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AXYO UNCEMEA^TS. 



ESTABLISHED 18 50 



Jnman Line. 

^ UNITED STATES AND ROYAL MAIL STEAMERS 

IITY OF PARIS, . . 10,500 Tons, i CITY OF BFBLIN, . . 5,491 Tons. 
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Note.— Round Trip Tickets issued at reduced rates, and the return 
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New York or Philadelphia. 



International Navigation Co., 



General Agents, 

6 BOWLING GREEN NEW YORK. 



ANNO UNCEMENTS. 



SIMPSON'S 



(LIMITED) 



Divan Tavern, 

! 03 STR AN D, 

Opposite Exeter Hall, - - - LONDON. 







CT^^HE premier Restaurant in the Strand, established upwards of 
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specially cooked to perfection from 12.30 to 8.30 p.m. Originator of 
professed Carvers to attend on each customer at separate tables 
Matured wines and spirits. The largest stock of any tavern in the 
kingdom. 

E. W. CATHIE, Managing Director. 



ANNO UNCEMENTS. 



LONDON & NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY 

THE OLD ROUTE IN THE OLD COUNTRY. THE TOURISTS' FAVORITE. 



IRISH AND SCOTCH ROYAL MAIL ROUTE. 

SHORTEST AND QUICKEST FROM 

lilVERPOOIi (Lime Street Station) to LONDON (Euston Station), 
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OUEENSTOTl'N to LONDON via Dublin and Holyliead, 

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At LIVERPOOL, Family Omnibuses from Landing Stage, 
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NORTH ^VESTERN HOTEL, Lime Street Station, 

Liverpool, the best and largest— the hotel for Americans. 

SPECIAL TRAINS from Liverpool to London when re- 
quisite to make close connection with steamers arriving from America. 

Elegant Vestibule Drawing-Room Cars ivitliout extra 
oliarge* Compartments with lavatories, and private saloon and 
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Sleeping Cars with Compartments and brass Beds, 5s. per berth 
in addition to first-class fares. 

DINING CARS on principal trains and "American Specials." 

Luncbeon Baskets at the principal Stations. 

In LONDON, Family; Omnibuses can be obtained, at the 
Euston Hotel (at the Station), noted for its Cellar and its French 
Cuisine, will be found most comfortable. 

THE LONDON AND NORTH WESTERN RAILTT AY 

has NOT abolished Second Class Carriages; passengers to whom 
economy is an object, but who do not wish to travel Third Class, can 
combine comfort with economy by traveling Second Class by this 
line. First and Second Class on all trains. Third Class Carriages on 
all trains except the Irisb Mails to and from Dublin. 

The Company's Agents, Mr, \V. STIRLING, at Queens- 
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the American Steamers on arrival, and secure omnibuses, seats, 
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THROUGH TICKETS to London, Glasgow, Paris, 
and principal stations in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, 
and Continent of Europe. 

TICKETS, Time Tables and information as to travel and hotels 
can be obtained from the Companv's Agent, Mr. D. B ATTERSB Y, 
184 St. James St., Montreal, and 

Mr. C. A. BARATTONI, Gen'l Agent for theU. S. and Canada, 
852 Broadway, near Union Square, New York. 



G. P. NEELE, E, MICHEL, 

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ABROAD AND AT HOME 



PRACTICAL HINTS FOR TOURISTS 




MORRIS PHILLIPS 

EDITOR OF 

the: monies journal. 

NEW YORK 







NEW YORK 

Paris Washington Chicago London 



\ 



"^-H^Ox 



GcMO 



Copyright 1891, 

BY 

MORRIS PHILLIPS. 



THE ART PRESS, 

DEMPSEY ^ CARROLL, 

86 EAST 14TH STREET, 

NEW YORK. 



TO THE MEMORY OF 
GEORQE W. HOWS, 

MY FAITHFUL FELLOW-WORKER AND DEAR FRIEND OF 

MANY YEARS, THIS VOLUME OF SKETCHES IS 

AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. 



" Travel is the great 

source of true u/isdom." 

— BEACONSFIELDo 



CONTKNTS. 



Preface, by the Hon. A. Oakey Hall, 

GREAT BRITAIN. 
London on Wheels, ..... 

London Hotels, ...... 

A Few Boarding Houses, .... 

Where to Lunch in London, and Where Not to Lunch, 

Railway Travelling in England, . 

An Hour with Spurgeon, 

The Crypt of St. Paul's, 

The Queen's Mew^s, 

A Question of Hats, 

London Oddities, 

Poverty and Charity in England, . 

Where is Charing Cross ? 

Margate, . . , , . 

Two Brighton Hotels, . 

A Visit to Bleak House, 

Takin' Notes in Edinboro* Town, 

The Bums Monument, .... 

Rt. Rev. the Moderator, James MacGregor, D.D., 
Crossing the Channel, .... 

PARIS. 
Paris Hotels, ..... 

Pensions of the First Class, 
The Restaurants of Paris. . . . • 



PAGE 

5 



9 
24 

47 
49 
59 
67 
71 
74 
77 
79 
85 
88 

89 
•97 
100 
105 
112 
116 
123 

124 

134 
137 



CONTENTS— Contimced. 



The Anglo-American Banking Co., 
Au Bon Marche, . ' . 

THE UNITED STATES. 
Georgia — 

The De Soto, Savannah, 

Thomas ville, 

A New Southern Resort, 
Florida — 

A Cuban City (Key West), 

St. Augustine, 

About Tampa, . 
California — 

Monterey, 

San Diego and Coronado, . 

Santa Cruz, 

Redondo Beach, 

Pasadena, 

Los Angeles, 

The California Hotel, San Francisco, 
Salt Lake City, .... 
The Auditorium Hotel, Chicago, . 
Max O'Rell on American Hotels, 



PAGE 

146 
147 



149 

155 
165 

171 

180 

185 

190 
199 
213 
221 
225 
231 
235 
239 
243 
249 



PREFACE. 

A continuous residence in London of eight years has 
satisfied me that precisely such a book, so far as it 
relates to that city, which my friend and once junior 
legal associate now presents is popularly needed. 

That in such respect it will be vitally interesting, even 
to readers who have never been tourists thither, " goes 
without saying." Moreover, there are in these pages 
views, comments and sights of the ''abroad" and **at 
home " additionally valuable ; therefore I gladly accept 
his invitation to prepare a short preface to this volume 
of an American M. P. in the Parliament of Letters. 

He first broached his idea of papers about London at 
a capital luncheon, when meeting together there we 
discussed with palates, forks and wine glasses a tempt- 
ing menu during the summer of 1890, as guests of Host 
Vogel, of the new Albermarle Hotel in Piccadilly, at the 
top of the historic St. James's street. 

We then and there drank success to the M. P. idea, 
and I doubt not, that every reader of this volume will 
be disposed to heartily duplicate that toast at his first 
dinner which shall follow its perusal. 

When a tourist first arrives in London, beneath the 
inviting shadow of the Northwestern Railway station 
hotel, that is flanked by two smaller inns and its centre 
pierced by several tavem$, or direct frora South amp- 



6 PREFACE, 

ton at the Waterloo station, within rifle shot of which a 
score of hotels invite his luggage and his wearied frame, 
that tourist's earliest question will be, which hospitable 
caravanse?'ai shall I patronize ? 

His second question will concern his vehicular desires 
for transportation by cab, 'bus or railway. Other quer- 
ies will suggest themselves regarding the *'How," the 
"Where," the ''Which" and the "Why" of his new 
London surroundings. 

With this volume on shipboard en route : or in railway 
carriage in transitu, the tourist will already possess 
answers in his mind to those queries or similar ones 
respecting Edinburgh or Glasgow ; and will not be at 
the mercy of chance or of confusing porters, or of con- 
testant "cabbies," or of the shady sharpers who throng 
railway platforms. 

Once well housed in any of the places herein men- 
tioned, and once understanding, by the aid of the en- 
suing pages, how to get about in the vast metropolis — 
wherein one may ride sixteen miles from extreme north 
to a suburban south, and fourteen miles from west 
to east without quitting paved and lighted streets, or 
the continuity of habitations — a traveler's eyes and ears 
will be all the Mentors he will require. 

Of so-called guide books (of which class this is not), 
there are in London and elsewhere abroad confusing 
scores, but the average tourist ought to shun guide- 
books as he would a Bradshaw, unless he loves char- 
ades, puzzles and conundrums. 

Every mother knows that when her infant obtains his 
footing, the child will walk confidently. This volume 



PREFACE, ^ 7 

serves to give the person who arrives in London or 
Edinburgh and kindred cities an instant footing. In the 
parlance of the race course, it is the "starter." 

On arrival, the first thing to do is to demand and 
learn the points of compass; because all enquiries about 
the " Where " in London hinge on those. 

The papers by M. P. about cabs and omnibuses will 
be found as valuable as they are piquant. He tells of 
certain trips (and tips) on top of a 'bus ; he vividly de- 
scribes how the best way for exploring London is to 
ride in its every direction on the tops of omnibuses — 
devoting days to the task, or rather pleasure — and 
when, as street after street is passed, reading their 
names, which are always sign-afi^ed to the turn — a con- 
venience even for residents which, in late years, is 
strangely unknown in New York City. Thereby locality 
and prominent buildings and often-ref erred-to neighbor- 
hoods become fix:ed in an obser^'er's mind for future 
uses of memory. 

I learned to know London ''like a book " — as common 
phrase goes : and, I therefore fully appreciate how much 
this book will serve to teach new tourists how to begin 
to learn London ; how much it will revive pleasant 
memories in former tourists ; how greatly it will instruct 
intending tourists ; how pleasantly it will amuse those 
who may not expect to practically patronize the hotels ; 
how well it will instruct as to London's vehicles and the 
wonders of the English city, which is practically seven- 
teen centuries older than Xew York. 

But there are other sides and hues to this prismatic 
volume. Not only is it in\4ting to Americans who wish 



8 PREFACE. 

to know about the *' across-the-ocean-f erry, " but it will 
be attractive to the countrymen of the M. P. who may 
travel or w^ho would like to travel Westward, ' * where 
the star of Empire takes its way. " And also to the for- 
eign tourist who may for only one week reside, in trans- 
itu to the States, upon the floating greyhoundish hotels 
which we call steamships. 

Marvelous as London is to the American tourist, the 
wonders, the hotels, the coasts, and the traveling — es- 
pecially toward the Pacific ocean — are equally marvel- 
ous to English M. P. 's and foreign ladies and gentlemen 
of fortune or leisure who seek transcontinental scenes 
and comforts. 

Merely "turning the leaves," a phrase happily used as 
a heading for book notices by the author of * ' Kissing 
the Rod" in his World newspaper of London, will at 
once show any buyer of this volume what I have implied. 

A. OAKEY HALL. 



Lotos Club, January 21, 1892. 



LONDON ON WHEELS. 



ABOVE GROUND, ON THE GROUND, AND UNDER GROUND. 



THE UNDER-GROUND LINES. 



How the five millions of people in London ' ' get about '* 
to their daily avocations and homes is a mystery to those 
who have not made the subject a study. So I have gath- 
ered some information which will throw a little light 
on it. 

Let me start out with the statement that besides the ten 
large terminal stations, like the Euston Square and the 
Midland, both in Euston Road, there are four hundred 
and thirty railway stations within the metropolis, and 
the under-ground lines alone carry annually one hundred 
and twenty-five millions of passengers. The under- 
ground roads have been in existence for more than a 
quarter of a century, and are found to answer the pur- 
pose admirably of relieving the over-ground traffic. 
They are convenient, cheap and comparatively quick ; 
but decidedly unpleasant, if not positively unhealthy. 

They now form a network of rails under the surface, 
and they have been a success from the first. They are 
a great engineering triumph, and may be said to have 
marked a new epoch in the history of London. The act 
permitting the tunneling was passed in 1853. Mr. John 
Fowler conducted the herculean labor, and underneath 
the streets of the busiest of cities, down where the soil 
was honeycombed with other works — gas pipes, water 
mains, drains and sewers — a railway line, costing up- 



10 LONDON ON WHEELS, 

wards of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds per 
mile, was constructed almost without the knowledge of 
those above. For three years — from the spring of i860 
to the beginning of 1863 — two thousand men, two hun- 
dred horses and fifty-eight engines were employed. 
When completed another difficulty presented itself, but 
was overcome by Mr. Fowler, who invented a locomotive 
which could be worked in the open air like an ordinary 
engine, but which, while in the tunnel, emits neither 
steam nor smoke, being so constructed as to be able to 
condense the one and consume the other. 

And yet, after a long ride in the under-ground, you 
always emerge with a headache. 

Of course the cars have to be lighted artificially, and 
they had not learned to use the electric light in them 
when I last was in London in October, 1891. Gas is a 
poor substitute in such a place. You are forced to read 
your newspaper in a dim light, and the gas consumes 
much of the oxygen which gets into the tunnel from the 
stations, and from openings en route, which are made 
for the purpose. 

Yet you do not get about as quickly in the under- 
ground as you would imagine. To avoid obstructions, 
and for mechanical reasons, the road takes a circuitous 
route and you frequently must ride a long way around 
to go a comparatively short distance. 

Millions of Londoners, who go direct from home to 
business, seldom get into an under-ground train. There 
are many over-ground lines built on brick arches which 
go to the suburbs, where rents are low ; for every En- 
glishman must have his own house, no matter how 
small, which he regards as his ' * castle. " These trains 
are quick and cheap, and you are blessed with ample 
light and good air — at least as good as you can get in 
foggy, smoky London. 

On all roads, whether on trunk lines, on local, over- 
ground or underground lines, there are first, second and 



LONDON ON WHEELS. 11 

third-class cars, or " carriages," as they call them. Even 
some omnibuses that ply from the trunk line stations 
also have compartments for different classes ; your 
Englishman is very particular with whom he rides. 

Occasionally you meet with unpleasant companions in 
third-class carriages of local or suburban lines, but on 
through trains, say between Liverpool and London, the 
third-class carriages are comfortable, and the travelers 
of a respectable class. 

There is a great difference in the rates, and on a long 
journey it is worth consideration. First-class fare is 
almost double that of third-class. Second-class is neither 
one thing nor the other, and on some lines it has been 
abolished. 

It is an old saying that only princes, Americans and 
fools travel first-class. I don't care under which head 
they place me, so long as they place me in a first-class 
** carriage." That it is more comfortable is incontro- 
vertible, if you'll pardon such a big word. I say this in 
the face of what John Stuart Mill said, that the only 
reason he rode third-class was because there was no 
fourth. 



ELECTRIC LINES UNDER GROUND. 



The Forzim last summer printed a very good descrip- 
tion from the pen of Simon Sterne, of the new electric 
under-ground railway in London, and the Sunday Sun 
last autumn had an elaborate article on the subject, 
which, with illustrations, occupied nearly a whole page. 

It is a quick and convenient means of locomotion, and 
to accomplish it was a work of wonderful engineering 
skill for which the inventor, Mr. Peter Greathead, can- 
not be praised too highly ; but the riding is by no 
means pleasant 



1^ LONDON ON WHEELS. 

In a lift large enough to accommodate fifty passen- 
gers, you descend a distance of eighty feet below the 
surface — part of the road running beneath the bed of 
the river Thames. The cars are small and fairly well 
lighted, but they have an unpleasant vibration, and 
although the air is not noticeably impure, there is an 
uncanny feeling with the knowledge that you are bur- 
rowing, as it were, in the bowels of the earth. 

The road, probably an experimental one, is only 
three miles long, extending south from ''the monu- 
ment " in the city. It has not, thus far, proved a 
success pecuniarily, the cost of construction being so 
great, although no land was purchased except for the 
stations. 



HANSOMS AND FOUR-WHEELERS. 



Street cars are not needed in the city. Nearly all Lon- 
don streets are in as good condition for driving as our 
Central Park roads. There are eight thousand hansoms, 
four thousand four-wheelers, and two thousand omni- 
buses, so that you are not obliged to walk on account of 
the absence of cars. The four-wheeled cabs, or ''growl- 
ers," as they term them, are dilapidated, uncomfortable 
vehicles, which lack new springs, and are dirty both inside 
and out. The horses and the drivers are old and super- 
annuated ; they have all seen better days in private 
carriages or hansom cabs. You never take a four- 
wheeler if you are alone, or if the party consists of only 
two persons. You must engage one if you have a 
trunk, but if you are going to catch a train or boat you 
had better allow a half hour's margin. 

The London cab service is the best and cheapest in 
the world. I say this, notwithstanding that I remember 
hiring a cab in Key West, in the Gulf of Mexico, for a 



LONDON ON WHEELS, 13 

dime. But such cabs and such horses ! The rate in 
a hansom is sixpence per mile for one or two persons, 
no fare less than one shilling (twenty-five cents) ; by 
the hour, two-and-six (sixty-two cents). 



HOW THEY DRIVE. 



England is the only place I know of where they drive 
to the left. English drivers say that by sitting on the 
right and driving to the left, they can better watch the 
hubs of approaching wheels, and thus prevent col- 
lisions. A cabbie's attention is given entirely to the 
roadway; pedestrians must lookout for themselves or 
be run over. That is why so many of the London po- 
lice are engaged solely in attending to street traffic. 
Yet with all their vigilance, more accidents occur in Lon- 
don, proportionately, than elsewhere. London drivers 
are polite and very civil to each other. If an obstruc- 
tion appears in front of a horse, or if for any reason he 
is obliged suddenly to slow up, the driver will imme- 
diately notify the driver in the rear by holding out 
horizontally his left arm ; and this sign is passed down 
from one driver to another, until the very end of the 
line of blocked vehicles is reached. 

People who have not visited London for several 
years, will find cabs greatly improved. There is a new, 
patent hansom. In these you are saved the trouble of 
opening and closing the doors ; this is done by the 
driver by touching a lever on the top of the vehicle. 
The new style of cab has thick rubber tires, which add 
considerably to ease and comfort in riding. So little 
noise does the vehicle make in going over London's 
smooth-paved streets, that these cabs are provided 
with bells to warn pedestrians of their approach. The 
interior fittings include a holder for lighted cigars, a 



14 LONDON ON WHEELS, 

box of matches, a small, bevelled mirror on either side 
of the cab, and a swinging rubber bulb attached to a 
rubber tube with a whistle at the end. You lightly 
press the bulb, and in this way whistle to Cabbie on 
top, who hears the summons above the roar of the 
streets, and responds by opening his trap door in the 
roof to receive instructions. 

The law does not permit the drivers of these well-ap- 
pointed and rather luxurious vehicles to charge more 
than do the drivers of the ordinary cabs ; but as the 
new hansoms cost the drivers more to hire, and as they 
are so much superior to the old style, you do not be- 
grudge pa^'ing a trifle extra. The drivers pay for these 
improved hansoms sixteen shillings (four dollars) per 
day, except during '*the season," when the owners 
exact a guinea per day, about five dollars. 

The speed with which the London cabs are driven is 
something alarming — alarming to a stranger. In New 
York a cab driver has some little regard for the lives 
and limbs of pedestrians ; in Paris the horses are so 
poor and skeleton-like, and go so slow, that pedestrians 
have no fear whatever ; but in London you must look 
out wholly for you;*self ; Cabbie will certainly not look 
out for you. If he is engaged by the course, he only 
has his destination in mind. London cab horses are the 
best horses in the world used for such a purpose. With 
rubber tires to the w^heels, and the wheels going oyer 
clean and perfectly smooth roadw^ays, there is nothing 
to obstruct their speed, and the animals go like the 
wind. They and their drivers seem to stand in fear of 
nothing but a policeman, and as London has good laws 
for regulating vehicles, and as these laws are strictly 
obeyed, the mere warning look of a policeman is re- 
spected and obeyed. 

London drivers are not so brutal nor so ill-tempered 
as New York drivers. They do not, as a rule, curse or 
swear at each other as ours do, v/ho are always ready 



LONDON ON WHEELS, 15 

with a fonl oath. If a ** block" occurs they take it 
good-naturedly and get out of it with the aid of the 
police as quickly as possible. Our drivers are only 
satisfied when they can take a mean advantage of their 
fellows, get in their way and put them to inconvenience. 
It may be Yankee " goaheadativeness, " or the spirit of 
freedom and independence which prompts this show of 
ill-temper, but for my part I prefer the laughing, jocu- 
lar, good-tempered London driver. 

On my last visit to London, where I stayed one month, 
I saw a great many ''blocks," but heard only one 
quarrel between drivers, and that was not at all serious. 
They will, however, chaff each other, saying something 
like this: — "Oh, come, pull yourself together there;" 
or " I say, country, why don't you learn to drive before 
you come up to London?" The term "up to London," 
by the w^ay, is put to singular use there. Although 
London is in the south of England, you always go "up 
to London," if you even go from Carlisle, which is in the 
extreme north, on the Scotch border. 



STREET CARS. 



There are no street cars run by the trolley, storage or 
any other electric system ; no cable cars, no horse cars ; 
not a track is laid for a surface road in ' ' the city " proper. 
Many Americans leave London without ever seeing a 
street car of any kind, and yet in the metropolis one 
thousand street cars run daily over one hundred and 
twenty miles of track, but they are not permitted in 
crowded thoroughfares ; they are confined to the out- 
lying districts. I have only seen them in the east end, 
in the district known as "The Boro' " and near the 
Victoria Station. The street cars are "double deckers," 
and, like the 'buses, they carry more outside than inside 



16 LONDON ON WHEELS, 

passengers, but the number of passengers is limited 
When the car has reached its limit it will take up no 
more passengers. Every passenger has the right to a 
seat, and, to use a paradoxical phrase, every English- 
man stands up for his right to a seat. 



OMNIBUSES. 



The two thousand omnibuses keep employed eight or 
nine thousand horses. The number of miles run annu- 
ally by the omnibuses is five and a half millions, and 
the number of passengers carried not less than forty- 
eight millions. 

Such a heavy, slow-going, cumbersome vehicle as 
the London omnibus could not be used on our rough- 
and-tumble roads. It is poorly ventilated, if you can 
call it ventilated, for the windows are closed and are 
immovable. The only means of ventilation is by the 
door, in the rear, near which everybody tries to get. 
As fast as the choice seats near the door are vacated, 
they are occupied by the less fortunate passengers, and 
the last comer is always obliged to take the worst place, 
which is nearest the front. But in fine weather a man 
never gets inside while there is a vacant seat on top, 
and it is no strange sight to see women occupying out- 
side seats to escape the stifling air inside. 

Nor does wet weather deter an Englishman from tak- 
ing an open air seat. Most Englishmen wear a * * mackin- 
tosh " in threatening weather and there's a great deal 
of such weather in London. To every seat on the top 
of a 'bus there is attached a woolen-lined leather apron 
to protect the knees, and with an umbrella, which is 
always part of an Englishman's costume, they manage 
to keep perfectly dry. 



LONDON ON WHEELS. 17 

The omnibuses are so freely used for advertising pur- 
poses, the outside is so nearly covered with attractive 
and gaudy signs of business houses that it is exceedingly 
difficult to read or discover the route or destination of 
the vehicle. You may be looking for Blackwall or 
Putney, but you will read ''Hyams' thirte en-shilling 
trousers "or ** Day & Martin's blacking is the best." 

The 'buses do not confine themselves to the middle of 
the roadway and allow passengers to pick and fight 
their way through a crowd of vehicles, New York-like ; 
they pull up to the curb to allow passengers to enter or 
leave without the least possibility of danger or trouble. 
Conductors will also leave their perch, approach the 
sidewalk (Anglice, pavement) to consult or advise with 
a prospective passenger who is in doubt as to which 
'bus he should take. Time seems of no importance : 
they are not in such a rush or whirl of excitement as we 
are. Whether from the excessive competition or from 
some other cause I know not : I do know that public 
servants in England are much more civil and polite than 
they are in this ''free " country. 

There are rules which control London omnibuses, 
and these it is the duty of the police to strictly enforce. 
A 'bus is licensed and allowed to carry only so many 
passengers, and this license or limit must be posted on a 
conspicuous part of the vehicle. The majority are 
"licensed to carry twenty-six passengers ; twelve inside 
and fourteen outside." 

In 1890 the London police force numbered thirteen 
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five men, not counting 
the nine hundred and two officers who form a special 
organization in what is termed *' the city." A consider- 
able part of the time and attention of the police is de- 
voted to governing street traffic. Policemen will watch 
and follow a 'bus for several blocks if they think it 
contains more passengers than the law allows. "When 
they are assured th^t tjiis is the case they go to a magi§' 



18 LONDON ON WHEELS. 

trate and lay a complaint, and then woe betide the 
poor driver or conductor who disregarded the law. 

The 'buses make special stops at certain points of 
their route and these seem very long and prove tedi- 
ous to one who is in a hurry ; but if your time is 
valuable you would never take a 'bus. They are 
not allowed to stop when near or nearing these special 
stopping-places, not even if a passenger expresses a 
desire to alight. I remember once, simply for informa- 
tion, asking the driver to stop in the middle of Trafalgar 
square, just as we were passing Nelson's monument, on 
the way to the Strand, cityward. ''Well," said the 
polite but uneducated Jehu, ''you cam't expect me to 
get a four-shilling summons for a penny fare, can you ?" 
meaning that if he pulled up where I indicated he would 
be summoned the next day on the complaint of a vigi- 
lant "bobby" and be obliged to pay four shillings for 
accommodating me. 

In American street cars or omnibuses— excepting, as 
I remember in San Jose, California, a passenger who 
rides only a few blocks helps to pay the fare of the 
man who rides the full length of the road, for the 
charge to both is the same. It is not so (mis) managed 
in England. The charge there is by distance, about 
one penny (two cents) a mile and you pay according to 
the distance you ride. There are two or three lines of 
omnibuses whose only fare is a half-penny (one cent). 
One line runs between Westminster bridge and Trafal- 
gar square. They pick up no passengers between the 
two points. They each carry only twelve passengers ; 
there are no outside seats. 

There is a great deal of pilfering going on among 
omnibus conductors, and drivers also, for they divide 
the spoils ; and the company winks at it, knowing that 
the pay of these men is too small. The company is 
satisfied if it receives a fair average return, but in this 
way it puts a premium on dishonesty. There is no check 



LONDON ON WHEELS. 19 

against the conductors — no mechanical contrivance to 
record fares. They are supposed to enter every fare 
and the exact amount they receive from each passenger 
on a paper shp placed in a frame, the frame being fast- 
ened to the inside of the omnibus door, but it is only a 
supposition. Passengers are requested to see that the 
amount paid is properly entered, but the request is 
wholly unheeded. It is, to say the least, a very careless 
way of keeping accounts, and invites dishonesty. On 
some lines they use tickets showing the amount each 
passenger pays, but a conductor sometimes forgets 
to hand you a ticket. An Inspector will occasionally 
mount a 'bus to see that all the passengers are supplied 
with tickets, and then the conductor with a treacherous 
memory has reason to be sorry. Keep out of a ** pirate 
'bus." The rate in these 'buses is not uniform, and 
overcharges are not uncommon. 



ON THE TOP OF A 'BUS. 



The driver is generally a jolly, red-faced fellow and 
very smartly dressed, especially on Sunday. He then 
always wears a ''top hat : " in winter it is of black silk, 
in summer a pearl gray felt with a wide mourning band 
to set it off. His coat is often a double-breasted drab 
cassimere, and in the top buttonhole of the left lapel is a 
large and loud nose-gay. A showy scarf and a pair of 
heavy, tan-colored driving gloves complete his costume. 
He makes quite a picture as he sits on the box, with a 
leather strap across his waist which holds him securely 
in his seat, and a black leather apron to protect the 
lower part of his body from wind and rain. He carries 
a showy whip with a very long and loose thong, with 
the end of which he can pick off a fly from the ear of 
his leader. 



20 LONDON ON WHEELS. 

The 'bus driver is permitted to smoke while on duty. 
He comforts himself ^vith a briarwood pipe unless a 
generous passenger treats him to a cigar, for he is not 
above accepting a small present. 

Leopold Rothschild, who lives on a street through 
which omnibuses pass, has taken a great fancy to these 
men and in the autumn he presents a pair of pheasants 
to every omnibus driver and conductor who passes his 
door. 

Everybody who has visited London knows that the 
best way of seeing the city is from the top of a 'bus. 
Get a front seat, next to the driver, hand him a tip in 
the shape of a sixpence and ask him a few questions. 
You will find that he is intelligent, well-informed on 
e very-day subjects, quick-witted and a judge of human 
nature. 

I had a very interesting ride last summer on the top 
of a^Kilbum" 'bus. These 'buses start from Vic- 
toria station, and run northwest to Kilbum, through 
some very beautiful thoroughfares, in which reside many 
titled people and some prominent members of London 
society. 

In Grosvenor place, soon after starting from the sta- 
tion, the driver will point out, for instance, the residences 
of the Dukes of Northumberland, Grafton and Portland ; 
that of the Earl of Scarborough, at No. i Grosvenor 
place ; the Dowager Lady de Rothschild ; Sir Edward 
Cecil Guinness ; that of the late Right Hon. William H. 
Smith ; also the homes of a number of members of par- 
liament, more or less well-known. 

The 'bus goes a short distance through Piccadilly and 
passes the residences of Baron Ferdinand Rothschild, 
Lord Rothschild, the Duke of Wellington and the Duke 
of Hamilton, in Hamilton place. 

Then it turns into one of London's most aristocratic 
streets. Park Lane (alongside Hyde Park), where reside 
the Duchess of Somerset, the Marquis of Londonderry, 



LONDON ON WHEELS, 21 

Lord Brassey, Alfred Rothschild, Lord Dudley, the 
Countess of Dudley, Lord Grosvenor, cousin to the 
Duke of Westminster, and the Duke of Westminster 
himself. The Duke's wealth is untold, and he owns 
miles of valuable land in this and the adjacent 
districts. 

A 'bus marked ''Hammersmith" will take you west- 
ward, through Piccadilly, past the clubs, the parks, 
some stylish shops, and fashionable residences. You 
will see St. James's Palace and historic Addison Road, 
en route, and you can ride across Hammersmith Bridge. 
You can also go to Kew Gardens and to the famous 
" Star and Garter," at Richmond, by 'bus. 

Here's another very interesting ride. If you are at 
Oxford Circus you will see omnibuses with the horses' 
heads turned eastward, and you will hear the Cockney 
conductor calling out ** Benk, benk. Charing Cross, 
benk." Take a ride with him. The vehicle goes 
through Regent street, Trafalgar Square, the Strand, 
Fleet street, then down Cheapside (which is anything 
but cheap), and Cornhill, where there is neither corn 
nor hill. At the end of Cornhill you see the most 
crowded and busthng crush of vehicles you ever saw in 
your life. To the right is the Mansion House (correspond- 
ing with our City Hall) ; a little further on * ' The Monu- 
ment," with its gold torch at top, looms up; immediately 
in front is The Royal Exchange, with its Peabody statue, 
while to the left stands the demure Bank of England, as 
solid from a financial point of view as it is architecturally. 
On this route you pass and have in view The National 
Gallery, Landseer's lions, several famous hotels and 
theatres, the Law Courts, Temple Bar, the principal 
newspaper establishments, and St. Paul's Church. The 
same 'bus, if you wish to pursue your journey eastward, 
will take you through Leadenhall street and into the 
very heart of Whitechapel — even to Blackwall and the 
docks, if your taste lies in that direction. 



23 LONDON ON WHEELS. 

There is no better way of seeing London than from 
the top of a 'bus if you get a seat next to an old and 
wide-awake driver, and the cost is but a few pennies. 
There are one hundred and forty different routes in the 
whole city to choose from. 



THE CITY TRAFFIC. 



One of the busiest thoroughfares is that narrow street 
called **the Strand," where it is crossed by Wellington 
street. You drive north, through Wellington street, 
past the Lyceum Theatre to get to Holbom, Covent 
Garden Market and elsewhere ; southward there is 
great traffic over Waterloo Bridge, leading to the Sur- 
rey side of London, w^hile from the east and w^est come 
continuous streams of omnibuses, cabs, carriages and 
heavy wagons and freight trucks. Policemen stand in 
the middle of the roadway and regulate this enormous 
traffic by merely raising a white-cotton-gloved hand. 
They are calm and immovable, and seem to pay not the 
slightest heed to their own safety amid the crowded 
crush of vehicles about them. All come to a standstill 
before the stiff and fearless *' bobby." When by wav- 
ing his hand he directs that a certain stream of vehicles 
may proceed this way or that, it proceeds, but not until 
he gives permission. 

London Bridge is said to be the greatest thoroughfare 
in the world. More vehicles and foot passengers cross 
it than pass through any other street, and special pro- 
vision is made for vehicular traffic. In New York, for 
instance, a heavily laden four-house truck or wagon 
may block Broadway for a great distance. If you are 
behind it in a phaeton or light carriage, you must wait 
till the driver in front of you, who may be sullen and 
obstinate, leisurely moves out of the way. No matter 



LONDON ON WHEELS. 23 

in how much haste you are — you may be trying to catch 
a train or an ocean steamer — you must wait. Not so in 
London's most crowded streets. On London Bridge, for 
instance, slow-going and heavily-laden vehicles must 
keep to the side near the curb and pavement, while car- 
riages, cabs and light vehicles are allowed the middle 
of the roadway for quick movement. That part of the 
roadway directly next to the curb has a smooth surface, 
and there is also a smooth surface about a foot wide for 
the outer wheel of heavy wagons — this only on London 
Bridge and in a few other very busy thoroughfares. 
It is a capital plan, and gives satisfaction to all con- 
cerned. 



ADVICE FROM CHARLES DICKENS. 



But in such a vast city, with such enormous traffic, 
nothing can prevent great loss of life and accidents in- 
numerable from crossing the streets. The point men- 
tioned above is only one of the busy parts of one street — 
the Strand — from another point, down by the Law Courts 
and Temple Bar, it is said that two hundred more or 
less mangled bodies are sent to the Charing Cross Hos- 
pital every year. 

The present Charles Dickens, in his * ' Dictionary of 
London," thinks it worth while to suggest that the only 
way to go from curb to curb is to make up your mind 
what course you will take, and then stick to it. London 
cabbies will thus divine your intentions. To change 
your mind while crossing is to confuse the cabmen, and 
cause you (so Dickens suggests) to make your return 
journey to America in the form of freight. 

As all vehicles in London are driven to the left, keep 
to the left curb. I found this suggestion of Oakey 
Hall's valuable: **As you leave a curb, look to the 
right ; as you approach a curb, look to the left." 



LONDON HOTELS. 



Until the year 1880 there was only one hotel in London 
that came up to the expectations of American travelers, 
which compared in size and appointments with Ameri- 
can hotels of the first-class. This was the Langham 
Hotel in Portland place. When the Langham was built, 
nearly thirty years ago, and for several subsequent years, 
as the writer can attest, for he was a guest therein 1871, 
and has been a frequent visitor there since, the Lang- 
ham was large enough to accommodate all American 
tourists in London. 

This, however, has been greatly changed. Americans 
at that time merely passed through London ; they took it 
as a sort of stepping-stone en route for Paris. In the days 
of the Second Empire, when Louis Napoleon wielded 
the sceptre, and Eugenie set the fashions for the civil- 
ized world, Americans flocked to Paris like so many 
sheep. Then it was said : '' See Paris and die." With 
the downfall of the empire and its accompanying glories 
our compatriots found Paris less attractive, and they 
discovered what everybody knows — that London is, 
in many respects, the most interesting city in the 
world. A presentation to Her Majesty, and hob-nob- 
bing with the Prince of Wales, are the things now most 
desired, and to be in the very height of fashion, one 
must hire a London house for ''the reason," — May, June 
and July. 



LONDON HOTELS, ^5 

THE LANGHAM HOTEL. 



But this is a digression. The ground, the stnictnre 
and the furnishing of the Langham Hotel, which was 
formally opened by the Prince of Wales in June, 1865, 
cost a million and a half dollars, and it was a wonder 
and a revelation to the English people. Its noble granite 
front of two hundred and twelve feet, its dining hall, 
forty-seven by one hundred and twenty feet ; its music 
room, drawing-room, and its public rooms generally, 
were on such a grand scale that Londoners opened wide 
their eyes in astonishment and admiration. The Lang- 
ham, by liberal outlay of money and constant improve- 
ment, keeps up with the times, and notwithstanding that 
m.any splendid establishments have been erected within 
the last decade, it retains its place in the very front 
rank. People who have not seen the interior of the 
Langham Hotel, London, since 1890, will notice some 
changes and marked improvements. Heretofore the 
dining-room was only entered by a comparatively dark 
and roundabout way, near the drawing-room ; now it is 
approached from ''the office " direct, through a wide and 
handsome ''vestibule," which is flooded with light and 
richly furnished, making an appropriate entrance to the 
beautiful dining-room. The drawing-room, which, for 
its size, its pleasing shap^ and rich furniture is yet one 
of the most attractive salons in England, has also been 
greatly improved. 

Colonel Sanderson, its first manager, an American, died 
many years ago. He was brother to Harry Sanderson, 
famous in his day in New York as a pianist. But English 
capitalists and business men are not given to making 
changes, and so we find that Mr. Walter Gosden, who 
was in the service of the Langham under Mr. Sander- 
son's management, has been for many years and is now 
the manager of the hotel. You can get a nice room with 



2ft LONDON HOTELS. 

beautiful outlook, and a very good breakfast here for 
less than two dollars a day. This estimate includes the 
charge for attendance. Address, Walter Gosden, Port- 
land place, Regent street, W. 



THE GRAND. 



During the past twelve years, however, many superb 
buildings for hotel purposes have been erected in the 
English metropolis. Among the largest and most popu- 
lar are the three grouped together, as it Avere, in one 
short street, Northumberland avenue, which, only two 
blocks long, extends in a southerly direction from Tra- 
falgar square to the banks of the Thames. These are 
the Grand, the Metropole and the Victoria, to name 
them in the order they were erected. So popular has 
this cluster of hotels become, and so many w^ell-to-do 
Americans do they attract, that property in the neigh- 
borhood has largely increased in value, and the trades- 
people blame the '* Yankees" for the increased rents 
they have to pay, never speaking of the increased pa- 
tronage which they enjoy from these same "Yankees." 

The features of the Grand Hotel, the longest estab- 
lished of these three, are well-known, but former pa- 
trons will scarcely recognize tlie reception-room, which, 
with its new, solid-looking furniture and rich, dark dec- 
orations, is now one of the most attractive apartments 
of its kind to be seen, even in these days of the uphol- 
sterer and decorator. While artistic and costly, it has 
an air of utility and comfort which you will not find very 
often repeated. The drawing-room of the Grand was 
to be ''done up" during last winter, so the secretary 
informed me, and "it will be just as handsome as the 
reception-room." Cable, Granotel, London. 



London hotels. m 

HOTEL METROPOLE. 



To American visitors in London the Metropole is 
one of the most attractive of the more recently built 
hotels. Situated as it is, and being replete with all the 
latest conveniences and features, no hotel in the me- 
tropolis approaches nearer to the ideal which was first 
evolved in the United States of the model modern cara- 
vansary. To dwell upon the subject of the general 
characteristics of the Hotel Metropole would be super- 
fluous ; they and it are too well known to Americans 
who have visited London, but a short description of the 
celebrated ''grand salon" of the Metropole, as it has 
lately been refitted and decorated (Sept. 1891), will be 
read with interest. 

The scheme of adornment is most tasteful, and per- 
fectly and harmoniously carried out in all details. Two 
shades of maroon in contrast with w^hite and gold are 
the leading features of the ensemble, and the general 
effect of this combination is extremely felicitous and 
pleasing. The wall space between the lofty windows 
and the immense mirrors is covered with stamped 
Utrecht velvet of a soft, natural tint and richness of 
design. The pillars are painted in maroon, with gilt 
capitals, an arrangement of color which is at once novel 
and agreeable to the eye. The patterns on the flutings 
of the beams which support the roof are picked out in 
gold on a white ground. 

The roof panels are covered with dull gold of a pecu- 
liarly restful tint, and the design introduced in various 
portions of the general decoration have an unusually 
aesthetic character. The electric lights, of w^hich there 
are a considerable number, are surrounded by cut crys- 
tal pendants and greatly enhance the brilliancy of the 
illumination. In the center of the room is a palm, the 
leaves of which shadow a space thirty feet in circumfer- 



is LONDON HOTELS, 

ence. It towers toward the ceiling, and for grace and 
beauty is not easily equalled in Florida, nor greatly 
excelled even in California. Tree palms are placed at 
intervals throughout the spacious room, producing a 
pleasing effect of verdure, and each of the separate 
tables is adorned with flowers ; while the rich candela- 
bra, with handsome shades placed upon each table, 
afford the subdued light which is preferable to the 
cruder glare of the former style of lighting. The gen- 
eral cot/J> d'ceil in the grand salon is singularly graceful 
and attractive. 

A large number of public and private banquets take 
place at the Hotel Metropole, this being one of the 
recognized resorts for ceremonies of that description. 

At the Metropole the '*show" apartments are known 
as the Eugenie and Marie Antoinette suites, and they 
have afforded many a descriptive writer material for an 
article. Probably no hotel sleeping chambers equal 
these for rich and costly decoration — for the laces, the 
frescoes and luxurious furniture. The reader will know 
that ample means were at command when told that in 
the selection of site, in constructing and furnishing the 
Metropole, half a million sterling (two and a half mil- 
lion dollars) were expended. And such a success has 
the Metropole proved that the company were encour- 
aged to invest further in hotel property with the result 
that they now own and control three hotels of the first 
class in London, also five other hotels in different parts 
of Europe. Among these are the Metropole at Monte 
Carlo, the Metropole at Cannes, and the Metropole at 
Brighton, the last named being the latest hotel erected 
by this company, and one which will compare in many 
respects with the most renowned hotels of the world. 
Rooms at the London Metropole from five shillings to 
one pound per day ; breakfast from two-and-six-pence 
to four shillings ; table d'hote dinner, six shillings — one 
dollar and a half. Manager, Wm. T. Hollands. 



LONDON HOTELS. 29 

HOTEL VICTORIA. 



The latest constructed of these three hotels is the 
Hotel Victoria. Printed words cannot easily convey to 
the mind an adequate idea of the magnificence of this 
structure. The public rooms of the Victoria are palatial 
in their proportions and appointments, the grand stair- 
case is a marvel of beauty, and the sleeping rooms con- 
tain all the conveniences and contrivances found in 
modern hotels of the highest class. Besides the com- 
forts characteristic of an English house, and the luxurious 
cuisine of a continental hotel, the attention and the 
discipline which rule at the Victoria remind one of an 
American hotel. 

You need have no fear at the Victoria that the 
cards of friends calling will not be promptly sent to you : 
nor is there any delay or trouble at this house, as there 
is at certain hotels in the Strand, about the delivery of 
telegrams, letters and packages. Each guest is known 
to the officials and servants, not by name, but by num- 
ber—the number of the room he occupies. Letters are 
placed in your box up to a certain hour of the evening, 
after that hour they are sent to your room. There is a 
package-room, also a '* package clerk, " who receives all 
bundles, signs therefor, and enters the same in a book, 
so that it may be known immediately if a package has 
been received for a guest. 

If a telegram or a card from a caller is received and 
the key to your room is not in its box, thus indicating 
that you are in your room, or at least in the house, 
a servant is immediately dispatched to your room, 
while a little page in livery is started off through all 
the halls and public rooms calling out in a loud voice 
your room number in this fashion, " Number 630, please." 
If you are anywhere under the roof you are sure to be 
found by this excellent method. 



ftO LONDON HOTELS. 

A feature of the Hotel Victoria is a corps of valets. 
There are seven floors in the building, each accommo- 
dating about sixty or seventy guests, and to each floor a 
valet is assigned who performs all the ordinary duties 
of such a servant. Shoes are not carried down below to 
be mixed and confused with hundreds of others, but are 
polished by the valet on your floor. The valet also 
enters your room during your absence, removes all the 
clothes he finds hanging or lying about, brushes and 
folds the same and puts them back neatly. It is a con- 
venience, returning to your hotel late in the evening 
and in haste to dress for dinner or the theatre, to find 
your evening suit nicely folded and brushed, ready to 
put on. These and other provisions for the comfort of 
guests indicate the general care in management and 
the close attention to detail which obtain at the Victoria, 
and which have given it its wide reputation. The ap- 
pointments include a billiard room with five full-sized 
tables. Good rooms on fifth floor, a dollar and a half a 
day. This includes attendance and lights. Breakfast 
from two shillings to three-and-six ; table d'hote luncheon 
about the same ; table d'hote dinner, one dollar and a 
quarter. Manager, Henry Logan. 



LONG'S HOTEL. 



There is another trio of London hotels that may be 
grouped together, on account of their proximity — the 
Hotel Albemarle (Albemarle street and Piccadilly), 
Long's hotel (Bond street), and the Hotel Bristol (Burl- 
ington Gardens, between Bond and Regent streets). 
The last two are but a few yards apart. They are all 
entirely new buildings, and new also in name and history, 
except Long's, which was erected on the ground where 



LONDON HOTELS, 31 

the first Long's stood for two hundred years. Long's, 
though not of great capacity, has a larger number of 
richly furnished bedrooms than the Ponce de Leon, in 
St. Augustine, Fla. For the beauty of the exterior and 
the magnificent surroundings of the Ponce de Leon, as 
well as for the Oriental splendor of its public rooms, 
no words of praise can be too lavish. But the two 
hotels, ''the Ponce" and Long's, cannot be compared ; 
their characteristics are so different. One is like a 
royal palace in the country, the other resembles a gen- 
tleman's quiet, city home. Long's differs from every 
other hotel I have seen in this respect, that all of its 
bedrooms have rich hangings, and the walls of each are 
decorated with works of art. The apartments are not 
cold and bare, as are the bedrooms of most hotels ; they 
suggest home-like comforts, and are furnished in the 
best taste. The walls of the dining-room at Long's are 
hung wdth Gobelin tapestry, and on the whole it may be 
called a beautifully appointed hotel. H. J. Herbert, 
manager. 



THE BRISTOL. 



They have some very attractive hotels in Boston ; the 
Brunswick, for example, and everybody has heard of 
the beautiful Spanish hotels in St. Augustine, and the 
great Auditorium in Chicago. I have lived at all these 
houses, also at the Hotel del Coronado, Coronado Beach, 
and at California's other famous house, the Hotel del 
Monte, at Mbnterey, with its 126 acres for a garden. 
There are few or none that are more gorgeous than 
these, and they always come to one's memory when dis- 
cussing the best hotels, but certainly New York City 
cannot boast of a hotel interior that equals in tasteful 
decorations those of the Bristol in London. It is a gem 
in its way. 



\ 



32 LONDON HOTELS. 

A veritable bijou of a room is the reception room of 
the Bristol. It is minus the onyx tables and costly 
paintings you see at the Ponce de Leon in St. Augus- 
tine, and the *' gold " chairs that dazzle your eyes in so 
many American hotels : everything in this room at the 
Bristol, from the soft carpet on the floor to the decora- 
tion on the ceiling, is rich, but also quiet in tone — sooth- 
ing and harmonious. The Royal Academy, the Bur- 
lington Arcade (a fashionable shopping street) and Pic- 
cadilly are all within a few hundred feet of the Bristol. 
The Bristol is patronized by such well-known New 
Yorkers as the Vanderbilts, the Twomblys and the 
OAvner of the New York World. Telegraph or write to 
the Bristol Hotel, Burlington Gardens, London, W. 



THE HOTEL ALBEMARLE. 



Although rebuilt and opened as recently as the begin- 
ning of 1890, the Hotel Albemarle has already gained a 
position and reputation as one of the most select and 
fashionable hotels in London. Its situation, to begin 
with, has undoubtedly had much to do with its imme- 
diate success. It conspicuously fronts the north end of 
the celebrated thoroughfare, St. James's street, in the 
centre of the court quarter of London, and stands at 
the comer of Albemarle street and Piccadilly. No bet- 
ter location for a hotel destined to be at once aristo- 
cratic and accessible to the traveling public could have 
been selected. Towering high above the surrounding 
buildings, the Albemarle, with its double fagade, sev- 
enty-five feet on Piccadilly and seventy-five feet on the 
street from which it takes its name, cannot fail to at- 
tract observ^ation. It is built of terra cotta in the 
Francis I. style of architecture, and the general effect is 
both graceful and imposing. 



LONDON HOTELS. 33 

The main entrance is in Albemarle street. The in- 
terior of the hotel is furnished and decorated in a 
variety of styles of the Renaissance period. The furni- 
ture and decoration of the dining-room, ladies' drawing- 
room on the ground floor, the fitting and decoration of 
the hall and staircase, are treated in the style of Francis 
I. The style of Henri 11. has been adopted for the 
first and second floors ; the third floor is in the style of 
Louis XV., and the fourth in that of Louis XIV. 
Special mention must be made of the " Rubens Room," 
furnished and decorated effectively in the Louis XV. 
style. This apartment derives its name from a fine 
painting which adorns the ceiling, and which is believed 
to be from the brush, either of Rubens himself or of 
one of his pupils. 

The furnishing, fitting and decorating of the Hotel 
Albemarle were effected by the \vell-known London 
firm of Shoolbred, after designs from a famous French 
artist. The building being of such recent erection, it is 
scarcely necessary to state that none of the modem im- 
provements has been neglected in its construction. 
The most careful attention has been paid to sanitary 
arrangements, and the hotel is lighted throughout by 
electricity. In the two years which have elapsed since 
it was opened, it has quickly become renowned for the 
excellence of its cuisine and service. Its wine cellar is 
one of the choicest in London. 

Royalty, the nobility, and visitors of the highest 
fashion patronize the Hotel Albemarle. During the 
London season, in particular, its rooms are crowded 
with distinguished guests. To Americans, especially, 
it should prove a most attractive resort, if only on ac- 
count of the brilliant and aristocratic neighborhood in 
which it is situated. St. James's Park, St. James's 
Palace and Marlborough House are near at hand. 
Hyde Park, with its ** Drive " and "Row," is within 
five minutes' walk, The Art Galleries, the theatres, 



34 LONDON HOTELS, 

the Opera House, the Houses of Parliament, the clubs, 
Westminster Abbey, and several of the principal mu- 
seums are within the compass of a shilling cab fare. 
The best and most fashionable shops in London are 
situated in the near vicinity, in Piccadilly and in Bond 
and Regent streets, while Oxford street, where many of 
the cheaper shops are to be found, is but a short dis- 
tance off — in short, it may be said that the Hotel Albe- 
marle stands almost in the centre of the fashionable life 
and business of London. 

Interest attaches to Albemarle street itself as an his- 
torical thoroughfare. During the last century it en- 
joyed peculiar reputation as a place of residence at the 
west end of the metropolis, and not a little of this old- 
time prestige clings to it still. The Prince of Wales, 
afterwards George the Second, once lived in Albemarle 
street, and when Louis the Eighteenth of France was in 
England in 1814 he made it his place of stay, and held, 
at the now defunct " Grillon's Hotel," his receptions of 
the leaders of the English nobility. The famous pub- 
lishing house, Murray's, through whose doors have 
passed such celebrities in the world of letters as Byron, 
Scott, Southey, Crabbe, Hallam, Tom Moore, Gifford, 
Lockhart, Washington Irving and many others, is situ- 
ated immediately opposite the entrance to the Hotel. 
You would never imagine that it was a publishing house 
or business house of any kind. It looks like an ordinary 
private dwelling, and the only sign on the building is 
one small, dull brass plate on the front wall upon which 
is engraved ** Mr. Murray." 

The proprietor of the Hotel Albemarle is Mr. A. L. 
Vogel. He is to be congratulated on the rapid success 
he has met with in his efforts to establish one of the 
best of London hotels. Mr. Vogel has purchased the 
freehold of property adjoining the Albemarle Hotel, 
and a large addition to the hotel will be erected pres_ 
ently, thus affording room for a new salle a manger and 
some thirty more bedrooms, 



LONDON HOTELS, 35 

Mr. Vogel issues as a " Guide to London " a compre- 
hensive and, in its way, a complete little book of fifty 
pages, illustrated and prettily bound in cloth. It is 
sent free to any address in the world on application. 
Address The Albemarle, Albemarle street, Piccadilly, 
London. 



THE BURLINGTON HOTEL. 



The Burlington is in Cork street, a select, and fash- 
ionable business thoroughfare between Bond street and 
Regent street. In this immediate locality are also to be 
found Long's Hotel, the Bristol, Almond's Hotel, pa- 
tronized by Chauncey Depew and his family, and 
Brown's Hotel in Dover street. The last-named house 
affects not to desire American patronage. The Burling- 
ton has enjoyed for over a century a truly unique repu- 
tation and position in London. The hotel, as seen from 
the Burhngton street side, has a dignified exterior. It 
was erected in the year 1723, after designs by Kent, by 
Richard, third earl of Burlington, but the Cork street 
side was added to the old hotel in 1828. 

It contains about one hundred and fifty rooms, and 
among these are as fine apartments as may be met 
with in any hotel in the world. The hotel entrance and 
the staircase are strikingly attractive, and the galleries, 
opening from the staircase to the first floor, have a 
most charming effect. Pretty alcoves occupy the ends 
of the gallery, and on the side opposite to the colon- 
nade, which looks on to the staircase, is a richly orna- 
mented doorway leading to the drawing-rooms. The 
latter possess curiously decorated ceilings, painted in 
oil, with vases, birds, foliage, etc. , the work of an Ital- 
ian artist of the eighteenth century. 

The bedrooms are also interesting, as they retain 
their original carved wood mantelpieces and doorways. 



36 LONDON HOTELS. 

There are several noble old rooms on the ground floor 
with tastefully designed mantelpieces, panelling, cor- 
nices, doorways and richly painted ceilings, which 
might have served for the background of one of Ho- 
garth's pictures. 

In the halls are fine, delicately carved benches by 
Grinling Gibbons. In their time the old frescoes 
have been admired by many famous celebrities who 
have sojourned at the Burlington. "Kitty," the cele- 
brated Countess of Queensberry, friend of Gay, dis- 
pensed her well-known hospitality at this hostelry, and 
Florence Nightingale occupied a suite of apartments 
there for some months after the Crimean war. Here, 
too, Macaulay wrote a portion of his famous history. 

Coming to more recent times, there is scarcely a well- 
known face in London that does not know this aristo- 
cratic hotel. Lord Beaconsfield, when he was plain 
**Mr. Disraeli," was president of a committee which 
met there weekly for the purpose of erecting a statue to 
the memory of the late Earl of Derby. The ex-premier, 
Mr. Gladstone, and his family have patronized the Bur- 
lington for the past fifty years. The Marquis of Salis- 
bury may be occasionally passed in the corridors on his 
way to the royal apartments of King Leopold, and the 
Prince of Wales arrives unattended to visit august rela- 
tives, who patronize the Burlington. Henry Irving 
gives his delightful dinner parties there, and the Royal 
College of Physicians have dined there monthly since 
1 830. Among distinguished Americans whose names are 
on the books, may be found George Peabody, the phil- 
anthropist, who resided there for eight months, also 
Jefferson Davis, John Jacob Astor, Mr. Bancroft, Gen- 
eral Schenck and General Sandford. Henry M. Stanley 
also is on the cosmopolitan list of celebrated guests of 
the Burlington. 

The Burlington, as well as the Buckingham Palace 
Hotel, opposite Buckingham Palace, has for many 



LONDON HOTELS. 37 

years been managed by Mr. George Cooke, who is one 
of the proprietors, and tinder whose administration both 
hotels have acquired a reputation second to none in Eu- 
rope. Electric light, new sanitation and every other 
modern improvement have been introduced, and both 
the British public, as well as American visitors to Lon- 
don, have been quick to appreciate Mr. Cooke's effort 
to make his hotels real London homes for people of 
taste and refinement. 



THE SAVOY. 



A London hotel that has, so to speak, jumped into 
popularity is the Savoy Hotel. It is a new house, on 
the Victoria embankment, with the Strand at its back, 
the public gardens in front and the Thames at its feet. 
It lies between Charing Cross and Waterloo Bridge, and 
for a '' finger post " it has Cleopatra's needle. There is 
an entrance for foot passengers from the Strand and a 
carriage drive from the embankment directly into the 
courtyard, like that of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, 
the Grand Hotel in Paris, and the Grand in Brussels. 
In fact, the Savoy is more like a continental than an 
English house, and the owners call it ''the Hotel de 
Luxe of the world. " Luxurious in site, size and appoint- 
ments, the Savoy certainly is. It is not continental, 
however, in its system of charges. Nor for that matter 
is it like any other London hotel, its system being 
American. In all Parisian hotels candles are a separate 
charge : in nearly all European hotels attendance is a 
separate item, and in most hotels in the civilized world 
you must pay extra for baths. Not so at the Savoy. 
When you are told the rate for an apartment every- 
thing is included — everything of course but meals — 
bedroom, lights, attendance and baths, There ^re sixty- 



38 LONDON HOTELS. 

seven bath rooms in the house, and beneath it there is 
an artesian well four hundred and twenty feet deep. 
The boiling water, as well as the cold, like Jacobs's bottle, 
is inexhaustible, and you can bathe to your heart's con- 
tent. You can hire a room for two persons for two 
dollars a day, or you may engage a suite at twenty 
dollars a day. 

As to table, you may live economically at the Savoy, 
or you may live like a prince — a rich prince. Here are 
the definite and fixed rates at the Savoy : — bedrooms 
for one person, from seven and sixpence (nearly two 
dollars) per day ; for tw^o persons, ten-and-six ; suites 
of apartments containing sitting-room, bed-room, dress- 
ing-room and private bath-room, from thirty shillings 
per day. Breakfast from two shillings to three-and-six ; 
luncheon, four shillings ; dinner, seven-and-six ; dinner 
served in private rooms ten-and-six. Guests* servants 
are boarded at six shillings per day ; price of room 
according to location. If you want to live in style and 
enjoy, at its best, life in London, engage a suite at the 
Savoy, including parlor and bath-room, with private 
lobby and private balcony overlooking the Thames. It 
makes no difference what floor you select : there are 
** lifts" in the house, so large and luxurious as to be 
justly called *' ascending rooms:" they run day and 
night. The rooms on the top floor are equal in height 
of ceiling to those on the lower floors, and the furniture 
is of the same quality throughout the house. General 
manager, C. Ritz ; acting manager, L. Echenard. 



HOTEL WINDSOR. 



The Hotel Windsor is in Victoria street, only five 
minutes' walk from Victoria Station, two minutes* walk 
from the American Legation, a few steps from West- 



LONDON HOTELS. 39 

minster Abbey, Westminster Bridge, the Houses of 
Parliament, St. James's Park and the Home Office. The 
dining-room of the Windsor is an especially cheerful 
apartment and it overlooks the pretty garden of a 
church. The great plate glass windows in this dining- 
room are larger than the windows in any other hotel, 
so large that they are only moved up or down by ropes 
to which handles are attached. They let in plenty of 
daylight, almost as much as streams freely into the 
dining-room of the Hotel Pasaje, Havana, which opens 
on the street, and which is not encumbered with win- 
dows at all. 

The Hotel Windsor is not only kept by a ''proprietor " 
in the accepted American use of that term, but the 
furniture, the building and the ground on which it 
stands are owned in fee ("freehold," as English people 
call it), by two men, J. R. Cleave and V. D. B. Cooper, 
the first named being the actual and active manager of 
the house, who makes it his home, the title of the firm 
being J. R. Cleave & Co. The premises include fifteen 
thousand square feet of ground, which, without the im- 
posing ten-story stone structure upon it, is valued at 
forty-five thousand pounds sterling — not far short of a 
quarter million dollars. 

The Windsor is fortunate in its location. A shilling 
cab takes you to any theatre or to the shopping centre, 
and 'buses pass the door every minute for Charing 
Cross, Trafalgar square and the Strand. Time, ten 
minutes ; fare, two cents, inside or out. 

There is a lift at the Windsor of modern style ; the 
house is lighted by electricity ; there are Turkish and 
swimming baths on the lower floor ; to avoid disagree- 
able odors the kitchen is at the top of the house ; the 
bedrooms are scrupulously clean, the cidsine and wines 
are of the best quality, and the charges moderate. You 
can live at the Windsor, if you prefer it, on the Ameri- 
can plan — rate, about four dollars a day. The European 



40 LONDON HOTELS, 

plan is also moderate in price for rooms and meals — a 
delicious lunch for sixty cents : choice service. 

If this is the description of a model hotel, worthy in 
every respect of the best patronage, ''that," as humorist 
Gilbert says, '* is the idea I intended to convey." The 
Windsor was built about twelve years ago. Address, J. 
R. Cleave, manager, Victoria street, Westminster, S. W. 



BAILEY'S HOTELS. 



Americans going to London for business, intent upon 
shopping, theatre-going and a round of sight-seeing, 
find hotels in the Strand, or hotels near Trafalgar square, 
very convenient. Reference is made to the Grand, the 
Metropole, the Savoy, and the Victoria, in their alpha- 
betical order. The Langham, in Portland place, and 
those select houses near Burlington Gardens and Picca- 
dilly — Long's, the Bristol, the Burlington and the Alber- 
marle, are also central, convenient, and in a fashionable 
district. 

If, however, a family is going to London for a pro- 
tracted stay and the desire of their hearts is to be in an 
ultra-fashionable locality, where the aristocracy reside, 
and where quiet and selectness reign and salubrity is 
assured, then Bailey's Hotel, on the corner of Glouces- 
ter and Cromwell roads, is recommended and recom- 
mends itself. If you are in haste and do not care for a 
cab, the "underground " will take you from '* the city " 
or from Charing Cross to Bailey's Hotel in fifteen min- 
utes, fare five cents, third class ; fifteen cents in a first- 
class carriage. 

When you reach Gloucester Road Station you are at 
Bailey's Hotel, and within a few minutes walk of Hyde 
Park, Kensington Gardens, Cromwell Gardens, Stan- 
hope Gardens, Queen's Gate Gardens, etc., etc. Near at 



LONDON HOTELS, 41 

hand are the Albert Memorial, Albert Hall, and South 
Kensington Museum. Not only is Bailey's Hotel in the 
heart of this fashionable locality, surrounded by the 
residences of members of the nobility and others, 
but the hotel itself is under royal patronage, and has 
entertained the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edin- 
burgh, the Duke of Connaught, the Princess Marie, 
the Princess Louise, and other members of the royal 
household. 

The hotel, which stands on the property of Lord Har- 
rington, who owns all the land hereabouts, was built in 
1875. It is a brick building, six stories high — a modern 
hotel with modem improvements, and all possible safe- 
guards against annoyances and dangers. There are 
accommodations for two hundred and fifty guests. In 
the rear of the house is a beautiful garden. 

The decorations and furnishings of the apartments are 
in admirable taste, and display an individual and artistic 
sense of fitness. The style is especially English, but 
also especially beautiful — there is no gaudiness, but 
neither is there dinginess. L^nlike American hotels, 
Httle space is given to halls, bar-room, etc. , but there is 
a cosey, homelike atmosphere, which is enhanced by 
the rich and substantial surroundings. Because the bar, 
with its glitter of glass and brass does not obtrude itself, 
let it not be supposed that wine is eschewed. On the 
contrary, the wine cellar is a feature of the house, and 
the stock of wines is valued at ten thousand pounds. As 
to the quality of the wines, and, by the way, that of the 
cuisine, they are unsurpassed in London. The sanitary 
arrangements bear the closest inspection. Some of the 
very old and small London hotels are not to be trusted 
in case of fire. Bailey's Hotel is American-Hke in the 
particulars of fire-escapes and preparations for extin- 
guishing a fire. 

There is no attempt to lead people to believe that very 
low prices prevail or that Bailey's is a ** cheap house " 



42 LONDON HOTELS. 

in any sense of the term. On the contrary, you pay for 
the best, and you get it. You can live at Bailey's Hotel 
on the European plan at about the same rate as at an 
American hotel of the first-class. Single rooms rent at 
about one dollar per day ; double rooms from a dollar 
and a half ; suites from four dollars and a half upward. 
These are the winter rates. They are a trifle higher 
during ''the season." 

As at all English hotels, breakfast varies in price from 
fifty cents to seventy-five cents ; luncheon from sixty 
cents ; table d'hote dinner, one dollar and twenty-five 
cents. Of course it is English, and there are some ex- 
tras. It is a rule at every English hotel, except the 
Savoy in London, to make a separate charge for ' ' at- 
tendance," about thirty-five cents per day for each per- 
son, and Bailey's conforms to the rule. No American 
likes it and it seems odd, but it is the custom in England, 

and when in Rome . Four dollars per week is the 

charge for each member of the canine race. 

So much for Bailey's Hotel proper, but the same 
proprietor, Mr. James Bailey, is also proprietor of the 
South Kensington Hotel, and, strange to say, the two 
hotels are distant from each other only five minutes' 
walk, the South Kensington being in Queen's Gate 
Terrace. 

Being in the same locality, and having the same pro- 
prietor, the above remarks and particulars will apply, 
almost word for word, to both houses. Americans who 
prefer a quiet, aristocratic quarter, and especially those 
who have children, will make no mistake in applying 
for rooms at either hotel, each with its surrounding- 
parks and gardens being particularly adapted to families. 
For the South Kensington, address Queen's Gate Ter- 
race, London, S. W. 



LONDON HOTELS, 43 

IN JERMYN STREET. 



A couple of small, quiet hotels in Jermyn street — a 
street which runs parallel with Piccadilly — may be found 
pleasant by families or by ladies without escort. They 
lack that bustle and noise to which some people object, 
and they are not *' company hotels, " that is to say the 
head and front of each is always visible and approach- 
able. Mr. Rawlings is proprietor of the Rawlings Hotel, 
and Mr. Morle with his family keeps and manages the 
house which bears his name. 

While Jermyn street is narrow and its two hotels are 
quiet, plenty of life and gayety are to be had near at 
hand. Bond street and Regent street, two of the most 
fashionable shopping streets of London, are hard by, 
and the parks and palaces are within walking distance. 
Rawlings' Hotel is famous for its cuisine, and a feature 
at Morle 's is that you can arrange to live on the Ameri- 
can plan if you prefer, the charges being "inclusive," 
as they call this plan there, and very moderate withal. 
Both these houses are homelike and comfortable, but 
they are not strictly fashionable. 

Do not confuse Morle's in Jermyn street with Morley's 
in Trafalgar square. Morley's has a magnificent out- 
look, with the noble Nelson Monument, Landseer's 
lions and the playing fountains in front, and the dinner 
served at Morley's is of the best quality, but the house 
is very old and rather worn, notwithstanding its white 
and attractive exterior. 



THE NORFOLK'S MODERATE CHARGES. 



If you want to get away from the Strand, Regent 
street and Piccadilly ; if you are tired of the glare and 
blare of showy ** American hotels," and you prefer a 



U LONDON HOTELS. 

very quiet, but healthy locality, jot down in your mem- 
orandum book, "Norfolk Hotel, Harrington Road, 
South Kensington, S.W." The Norfolk was built in 
the year 1889, not by a company, but by Mr. A. Fat- 
man, who himself keeps the house. It is not large, 
there is room only for eighty guests, but these eighty 
can be made very comfortable. 

It is not like a hotel in certain respects. The rooms 
are not all of one size nor of one shape. The furni- 
ture does not look as if it were turned out by machinery 
in Grand Rapids and bought by the car-load. It has 
character and distinction, no suites of furniture being 
alike. There is nothing at the Norfolk to remind you, 
for instance, of a Salt Lake hotel, with its great halls 
and corridors, and its cold, bare walls. Good taste, as 
well as iTLoney, was used in building and furnishing the 
Norfolk, and the result is an attractive, cosy, home-like 
house. 

After entering the Norfolk and admiring its pleasant 
surroundings, the tariff of charges will surprise you. 
Rooms are let as low as two-and-six (about sixty cents) 
a night, and, wonderful to relate for a London hotel, 
there is no charge for attendance. Fish breakfast, one- 
and-six (thirty-five cents) ; afternoon tea, sixpence ; the 
same price for hot or cold bath. 



THE FIRST AVENUE. 



Don't be prejudiced at the sound of ''First Avenue 
Hotel." It is in Holborn, a bustling, busy thorough- 
fare, but which has nothing in common with our First 
avenue in New York. The Gordon's Hotel Company 
made a mistake in naming the house ; they meant to 
say Fifth Avenue Hotel, for the First Avenue Hotel 
ranks probably with our Fifth Avenue Hotel in New 



LONDON HOTELS, 45 

York, only the First Avenue is not an old house. Hol- 
bom is one of London's main arteries, a continuation, 
east, of Oxford street. The First Avenue is not very far 
from St. Paul's and Newgate. The former being a 
noble cathedral, you will wish to get into; the latter be- 
ing a prison, you will wish to keep out of, unless for a 
temporary visit. 



OTHER HOTELS. 



Another hotel in Holborn which may be commended 
is the Holborn Viaduct Hotel, near the city station of the 
London, Chatham and Dover Railway. 

A pleasant house in High Holborn is the Inns of 
Court ; neither fashionable nor grand, but select and 
comfortable ; largely patronized by English people. 
Terms moderate. The main entrance is in Lincoln's 
Inn Fields. 

There are some famous old houses farther east, in the 
city, in such a bustling, busy quarter as St. Martin's le 
Grand, near the General Post Office. The Queen's Hotel 
in this neighborhood is best known. 

Not far from this locality is the Manchester Hotel, 
in Aldersgate street. The proprietor of the Manchester 
Hotel especially solicits American patronage. 

Those who desire to make frequent visits to the Houses 
of Parliament and that grand old pile, Westminster 
Abbey, will find the Westminster Palace Hotel conven- 
ient. It has an imposing front, in Victoria street, West- 
minster, almost opposite to the Abbey. Within five 
minutes' w^alk of this hotel are the Home Office, St. 
James's Park, the Horse Guards, Westminster Bridge, 
leading to the Surrey side of London, the L^nited States 
Legation, and the Victoria Station of the London, Chat- 
ham and Dover Railway, The favorite and well kept 



46 LONDON HOTELS, 

Hotel Windsor, referred to elsewhere, is also in Victoria 
street, and still nearer to the Station and the Legation 
before mentioned. 

Convenient to Hyde Park are the Alexandra Hotel, 
1 6 to 21 St. George's Place, Hyde Park Corner, and the 
Hyde Park Hotel. The latter is at the west end of Ox- 
ford street, in Hyde Park Place, near the Marble Arch. 

Claridge's Hotel used to be considered "the crack" 
house of London, and it is still patronized by the nobility, 
members of the diplomatic corps and by royalty. Nos. 
49 to 55 Brook street, Grosvenor Square. 

The Hotels connected with the railway stations are 
large structures, solidly built, fire-proof, as a general 
rule, and fitted up with every modern contrivance. They 
are desirable stopping places if you arrive late at night 
or if you intend to make an early start by rail, from the 
station, in the morning. They were erected for that 
purpose and they serve it admirably. 

There are very many reputable hotels in London 
which are worthy of the best patronage, detailed refer- 
ence to which, in this limited space, it would not be pos- 
sible to make. 

If none of the hotels described or alluded to in the fore- 
going list suits your plans and purposes, consult friends 
who have had experience in such matters. But don't 
go, hap-hazard, into the smallest and oldest London 
hotels of whose very existence you never heard. Some 
of them are unpleasant, as residences ; others are un- 
healthy. If your stay in London is short there is every 
reason why you should put up at the best houses. If 
you make a protracted visit and desire to economize, go 
to a boarding house or take lodgings. You will see signs 
in windows all over London : hire rooms and eat where 
your fancy or purse directs. London housekeepers are 
glad to "eke out " by letting rooms in the summer, and 
with a small tip now and then to the maid, hfe can be 
made very comfortable in London lodgings. 



LONDON HOTELS. « 

A FEW BOARDING HOUSES. 



There are plenty of first-class boarding houses where 
Americans are welcome. Five or six come to mind — 
Mrs. Pool's, No. 20 Bedford place ; Mrs. Goodman's, No. 
13 Montague place ; Mrs. Philp's, No. 6 Montague place ; 
Mrs. Wright's, No. 15 Upper Wobum place, and Mr. 
Cooper s, No. i Bedford place, Russell square. Mrs. 
Philp is an American whose husband keeps the Cock- 
bum Hotel in Glasgow; and there is a Philp's Cockbum 
Hotel in Edinburgh. Mrs. Philp's drawing-room is 
beautiful, the dining-room cheerful, and there is a pretty 
garden which is backed by the walls of the British 
Museum, so Mrs. Philp is easily found. 

Those who want to live economically but comfortably 
are recommended to the handsome private hotel or 
pension of Mrs. Marcus Pool, 20 Bedford place, Russell 
square. This is a pleasant and convenient quarter of 
the city — quite handy for the British Museum, not far 
from Charing Cross, and a shilling cab fare to railway 
stations and places of amusement. The house is fur- 
nished and appointed on a liberal scale ; the drawing- 
room is large and cheerful ; the bedrooms are luxuri- 
ously fitted up in the best taste, and they have a 
pleasant outlook. There is a Broadwood piano, also a 
new billiard room, with a table from the famous firm of 
Bennett. The house has a refined, home-like air, well 
representing the character of Mrs. Pool and her charm- 
ing daughter. French and German are spoken. The 
terms at the Pool pension are from two dollars a day, 
which include breakfast, table d'hote dinner and attend- 
ance — ** everything inclusive." Those are the terms 
**in the season;" the winter rates are lower. The 
cuisine is of the substantial English quality, but not 
heavy. At Pool's pension you are sure to meet culti- 
vated and select people. Those who have been Mrs. 



48 LONDON HOTELS, 

Poors guests appear perfectly satisfied ; for they return 
again and again. Mr. Cooper keeps a good house and 
he caters to people accustomed to refined surroundings. 
He is a typical Londoner of the middle class — honest, 
blunt and out-spoken. Mrs. Lucy H. Hooper, wfe of 
the American Vice-Consul in Paris, recommends No. i 
Bedford place. Mrs. Hooper makes it her stopping place 
when she is in London. 

** American Family Home." — An establishment which 
meets with especial favor among fastidious tourists is 
Demeter House, 13 Montague place, Russell square, W. 
C. The location is select, within easy access of the 
centres of shopping and amusement. The house is kept 
by Mrs. A. Goodman, who aims to maintain a house re- 
plete with the comforts and freedom of a refined home 
and the advantages of a hotel, but with less expense. 
The house is spacious and vrell furnished, the table ex- 
cellent and carefully provided. Many leading American 
families make this their home during their annual visits 
to London. 

Put down "No. 15 Upper Wobum place, Tavistock 
square," and note that it is not far from Euston station. 
It is a quiet street. The house is kept by an English 
woman of refinement, Mrs. Wright and her maiden 
daughters, and it may be commended as a pleasant 
Christian home, where grace is said before meals. 

Of these boarding houses, like all the hotels mentioned 
in this article, the writer speaks from his own knowledge 
and experience. But don't count on getting accommo- 
dation in London hotels in the season, without making 
prexHous arragements or giving notice in advance of 
your arrival, or you may be disappointed. 



WHERE TO LUNCH IN LONDON, 

AND WHERE NOT TO LUNCH. 



It may be set down at the outset that there are 
no restaurants in London equal to Delmonico's in Fifth 
avenue, or the Cafe Savarin in the Equitable Building, 
New York, and no London restaurant serves a table 
d'hote dinner at any price equal in quality and style of 
service to that furnished at the select and elegant 
" Cambridge," Fifth avenue and 33d street, New York. 

Neither is there a restaurant of the third class that will 
compare with Mouquin's, in Ann street, where everything 
is cooked to a turn, and where even a fastidious gour- 
met need not find fault. There are two or three Italian 
places in Regent street where they serve a '* Chateau- 
briand," enough for two persons, for one dollar, but no- 
where do you get a dish of maccaroni that is more pala- 
table than at Mouquin's, and neither in London nor 
Paris do you get as good Burgundy for the price as 
Mouquin's beaujolais — half bottle, forty cents. 

The foreign halls are more richly gilded, and the fur- 
niture is of finer texture, but if you are looking for as 
good food and as well served at that at Mouquin's, at 
Mouquin's prices, you will look in vain. 

In the price of wines, however, no first-class hotel or 
restaurant anywhere that I know of sells wines as low 
as the manager of the Hotel del Monte, Monterey, Cal. 
In France, on the Swiss border, I found viii ordi7iaire 
almost as cheap as water, in the small inns. The Hotel 
del Monte, please bear in mind, is a superbly appointed 
and grand establishment, and they serve you a half 



50 WHERE TO L UNCH IN LONDON, 

bottle of good California Zinfandel for fifteen cents. 
But then this hotel company own their own vineyards, 
and make no profit on wine served at table. It is a sort 
of " sample " or advertisement for their wines. 

*' The Aerated Bread Shops," which are as '* thick as 
flies " in London, are probably good enough places to 
drop into if you are in a great hurry, for a cup of coffee 
or cocoa and a roll or piece of dry, digestible seed cake. 
If you abhor marble tables, if you must have a serviette 
and you would avoid a crowd and mixed company, keep 
out of the ''aerated bread shops," and by the same 
token and by all means keep out of the Lockhart lunch 
shops. The ''aerated bread shops" are tolerable ; the 
others are not. 

Much more worthy of patronage than aerated bread 
shops or Lockhart's lunch shops is the confectionery and 
cake counter of William Buszard, 197 and 199 Oxford 
street, where everything is clean and inviting. A sim- 
ilar place of the first-class is that in "the city" of 
Alfred Purssell & Co., No. 80 Cornhill, E. C. The pro- 
prietor of this establishment is related to the late Wil- 
liam Purssell, founder of the famous restaurant in Broad- 
way which still bears his name. There are several pleas- 
ant places in and near Piccadilly where you may obtain 
a cup of tea or cocoa and a dainty sandwich, just 
enough to "stay the appetite." One of the best of 
these is Callard's, 146 New Bond street, but even in 
this neat and clean little shop they don't know what a 
serviette is. 

Romano's, called " The Vaudeville," 399 Strand, is 
recommended for its moderate charges, but this is a 
place I have never tried. So much for the confectioners 
and the cheap restaurants. 

The Tivoli restaurant, up stairs, connected with the 
Tivoli Music Hall, is in the Strand, just East of Charing 
Cross. ' ' La Haute Cuisine Frangaise, " as they term it, is 
in charge of a famous chef, M. Gerard. A Table d'Hote 



WHERE TO LUNCH IN LONDON 51 

Luncheon, at 2S. 6d., from 12 to 3 ; Parisian dinner, at 
5s., from 6 to 9, served in the Flemish Room. 

Londoners are proud of their Holbom Restaurant, 218 
High Holborn, where the glass and the brass and the 
marble columns are resplendent and imposing, and 
where you are regaled with vocal music (English glees) 
during the dinner hour, but the meals are not daintily- 
served : the butter is not cold, and the plates are not 
warm, and unless you order a costly meal at the Hol- 
bom Restaurant, the waiter may wait on you with con- 
descension. Dinner, three-and-six. 

If you are in ' ' the city, " in the neighborhood of the 
Bank (the Bank of England), and you have a desire to 
see how and where some of the brokers and commission 
merchants lunch, step into the Winchester House in 
Bishopgate street — a well-lighted, well-furnished restau- 
rant, where no charge is made to customers, strange to 
say, for use of water and soap. 

Ladies who are in the neighborhood of Westminster 
Abbey or who have business at the American Legation, 
are recommended to the Army and Navy stores, in 
Victoria street, opposite the Windsor Hotel, where a 
dainty lunch is served at a very moderate sum. You 
can do your shopping in the same large establishment. 
They sell everything, from a poached ^%% to an Axminster 
carpet or a wedding outfit. The Army and Navy stores 
is on the cooperative plan. To gain entrance you must 
either use a member's ticket number or use good judg- 
ment. 

Gatti is a well-known name in the Strand, where the 
Gattis have two large, gaudily furnished restaurants, 
one of which extends to King William street. The 
Gattis are also owners of the Adelphi Theatre, where 
you may always enjoy a drama — if you enjoy melo- 
drama. The Gattis are Swiss, and one of the brothers 
is a legislator in one of the Swiss Cantons. They com- 
menced in a small way, in the east end of London, many 



53 WHERE TO LUNCH IN LONDON. 

years ago and made a reputation for their ices. They 
long since moved to the west end, where they increased 
their business and they now conduct a thriving trade. 
All Gatti's waiters are foreigners. They are a talkative 
set and some people might prefer that their linen be 
nearer the color of snow. 



IN REGENT STREET. 



If you are in the neighborhood of Piccadilly Circus, 
a fair place to get luncheon at a fair price is ** the Flor- 
ence " in Rupert stree.. Regent street. It is an Italian 
restaurant ; the lunch is served table d'hote and the 
price is one shilling and sixpence. But there is no profit 
to the restaurateur in the mere lunch : you are expected 
to order wine — indeed that is the expectation in all 
English restaurants and hotels — all hotels that are not 
temperance houses. At the Florence you can get din- 
ner from six to nine, for half-a-crown — sixty-two cents — 
and you order wine of course. 

If you are fond of high living, and you don't mind 
paying for it, take a meal in the middle of the day or early 
in the evening at the Hotel Continental. It is in the 
lower part of Regent street, on the corner of Waterloo 
place, within the shadow of the Duke of York column. 
It was one of the first houses in London to adopt the 
French style in name — Hotel Continental in lieu of 
Continental Hotel — and it was one of the first to serve a 
first class dinner in the French style. The reputation 
for its cuisine is second to none, and the hotel prides 
itself upon the accuracy of the names and vintages of 
the wines supplied. It has the monopoly in London of 
that famous brand of champagne, '' Mcdaille (T Or,'* 
which received the grand prize in the French E^bition 



WHERE TO LUNCH IN LONDON 53 

of 1878 over sixty other competing wines. Cigarettes 
made of the finest tobacco are manufactured expressly 
for the hotel in Constantinople and Salonica. 

There is always a very gay scene in the Hotel Contin- 
ental supper room after the theatres close ; it might be- 
come too lively in the early hours of the morning, but 
the police regulations oblige such places as the Contin- 
ental to close their doors at one A.M. Dinner from 
seven-and-six to twelve-and-six, without wine, of 
course ; for although you are in the Continental you 
are not on the Continent. A. Y. Wilson, who has 
been connected with the house since its opening, is the 
manager. 

More attention is given to ''the inner man " in London 
than in any other place I wot of. They seem to live to 
eat there, not eat to live, and yet some one has noted 
this difference — you eat dinner in London, while in Paris 
you dine. Mention the subject of restaurants in London 
and the majority will ask you, " Have you dined at 
Verrey's in Regent street ?" Yes, I've been to Verrey's 
and I found it very gloomy, and very expensive not to 
say oppressive. You are in the middle of the house and 
the room is lighted from a skylight. It is not at all 
cheerful. 

Blanchard's, ''The Burlington," 169 Regent street, is 
patronized by the higher classes. Dinner from five 
shillings to twelve-and-six. No higher priced dinner in 
London. 

For a healthful, nicely-served meal, whether it consist 
of a mutton chop and a boiled potato or a dinner of sev- 
eral courses, much better than the aforesaid establish- 
ments in Regent street is the Cafe Royal, at No. 68 
Regent street. In the " Grand Cafe Restaurant Royal," 
where dinner is served, prices rule high. For luncheon 
go into the " Grill Room " of the Cafe Royal. You will 
find the rates reasonable, the food of the best, the ap- 
pointments on a grand scale, and the service satisfac- 



54 WHERE TO L UNCH IN LONDON. 

tory. These remarks will also apply to ** The Monico/' 
at Piccadilly Circus and Shaftesbury avenue. 

The St. James Restaurant, which extends from Picca- 
dilly to Regent street, with entrances on both streets, is 
a large, showy place, with plenty of glitter about it, and 
wearing the big-sounding title of St. James Hall. The 
rates are not low, the food is not of the choicest quality, 
the service is not of the best, and the waiters may over- 
charge you unless you watch them closely. The charge 
for washing your hands at the St. James, be you a pa- 
tron or not, is two-pence. This is a regular charge 
made by the proprietors, but if you don't also fee the 
man w^ho hands you a towel or fills your basin, you 
might get a cold reception down-stairs the next time you 
call, and you may fill your own basin. 

At the Criterion, in Piccadilly Circus, you can take 
your choice ; go up stairs, and the charges are higher ; 
down in the basement the same dishes are served at a 
lower price. To quote their bill, ''table d'hote three- 
and-six, le diner Parisien, five shillings." 

English people when they are thirsty drink beer, wine, 
or something stronger ; Americans who live in cities, 
American women at least, prefer something weaker, 
soda water, for instance, which, charged with gas, 
looks cool and inviting as it comes bubbling from a 
highly polished, silver-plated fountain. Not until re- 
cently could American taste in this matter be gratified 
in London. Now there are two " American confection- 
eries " kept by Fuller, one, the principle establishment, 
at 206 Regent street ; the other, at 358 Strand, both 
central locations. The first is close to Oxford Circus 
and not far from the Langham Hotel. At Fuller's you 
can get ice-cream soda and '* caramels fresh ever hour." 
In fact, on a pleasant summer day Fuller's, in Regent 
street, will remind you of Huyler's on Broadway, and 
if you are a New Yorker, you will meet many familiar 
faces there. If you retain di]MY^w\Q pe?ichant for pea- 
nuts, that taste can also be gratified at Fuller's, 



WHERE TO LUNCH IN LONDON 55 

THE GRILL ROOM OF THE GRAND. 



So many of the transient guests at hotels in London are 
out shopping and sight-seeing, that they generally take 
only breakfast, or, at most, breakfast and dinner, at their 
hotels, always lunching wherever convenience may 
permit. The meals at European hotels being usually a 
separate charge, the hotel is a sufferer by this custom, 
so that at some, if not most houses, it is understood 
that, if you take your meals out, a higher charge will 
be made for your apartment. The manager of the 
Grand Hotel, however, has opened a restaurant of his 
own, in his own house, which is so attractive that it not 
only keeps together his regular guests, but allures **the 
outside world," and thus the "Grill Room," as it is 
called, of the Grand has become famous in London. 

While within and a part of the Grand Hotel, it is not 
reached by the main entrance in Northumberland ave- 
nue. It is at the eastern end of the building, around 
the corner, in the Strand, and is in what we would call 
in New York a basement, but no ordinary ' ' basement " 
is this, and the staircase leading to it is anything but 
ordinary. The Grill Room of the Grand is a well- 
lighted, cheerful apartment, richly carpeted and finely 
furnished. The chairs are comfortably upholstered, the 
walls are gorgeous with polished tiles, the table furni- 
ture is dainty, the food is of prime quality, and the 
tariff of charges moderate. 

Don't be surprised at the charge, two-pence, for wash- 
ing your hands in the Grill Room lavatory, and unless 
you occupy a room, the charge for use of lavatory in 
the hotel proper is three-pence ; but it it worth half a 
crown merely to see the lavatory, or rather the staircase 
and landing leading to it, so beautiful are the colored 
marble fountain, the eastern rugs, the fernery and the 
Oriental lamps, with which this lower part of the house 



56 WHERE TO LUNCH IN LONDON 

is decorated. The view of this lower part from the 
marble staircase on the main floor has been called fairy- 
like ; it is certainly very pleasing. 

Strangers are not allowed the run and freedom of the 
hotels in Europe as they are in "the States." They 
can't use the smoking-room, read the newspapers, loiter 
about the halls, make a general rendezvous of the house 
and help themselves to stationery in European hotels as 
they do on this side. Their hotels lack some of our 
popular features and the excellent service and discipline 
of the American hotels, but, on the other hand, they 
are not so noisy, and are more private. American 
hotels suit Americans, and the hotels in England satisfy 
the wants and desires of English people. 



SIMPSON'S DIVAN. 



A Characteristic English Restaurant. — A good, plain, 
thoroughly wholesome English dinner is served in an 
appetizing way by English waiters at Simpson's, in 
the Strand, next door to Terry's Theatre, opposite Exe- 
ter Hall. You get a bowl of good soup, a course of fish, 
a cut from the joint, a salad, two kinds of vegetables, 
with bread and butter, a biscuit and a bit of rich Gor- 
gonzola or dry Wiltshire cheese to wind up with, and 
3^our whole bill will be four shillings, to which add three- 
pence for "attendance," which is charged in the bill, 
and about threepence more which you will hand to the 
waiter. A feature of the place is that the hot joint, over 
a chafing dish and on a small table, is wheeled round 
to you, and it is there cut before your eyes and trans- 
ferred to your plate. You can get a lower-priced dinner 
in London, and higher-priced dinners where you please, 
but none of a better quality and none that is more 
satisfactory unless you demand fancy fol de rols, in- 



WHERE TO LUNCH IN LONDON. 57 

digestible entrees and French dishes made of little or 
nothing. 

Simpson's is justly celebrated for its "fish" dinners. 
Both these and the meal above described are served in 
the middle of the day and in the evening also. On Sun- 
day the evening dinner only is served ; the place is closed 
until 6 P.M. 

Simpson's enjoys the patronage of Henry Irving and 
of other people famous in the theatrical world, just as it 
did in the last century. Henry Irving's Lyceum Thea- 
tre, by the way, is in the Strand, near Simpson's, but on 
the opposite side of the street. In the summer of 1 890 I 
saw D'Oyly Carte enjoying his dinner at Simpson's. 
This is a special compliment to the place, because that 
magnificent hotel, the Savoy, in which this theatrical 
manager is interested, is just around the comer from 
Simpson's, on the Thames Embankment. During the 
summer of '91 I met at Simpson's another theatrical 
manager, our own Augustin Daly, with his wife. Mr. 
and Mrs. Daly occasionally left the Hotel Metropole, 
where they had aparments, to partake of one of Simp- 
son's substantial, well-cooked and appetizing meals. 
There's no Simpson now, the founder died long ago, 
but "■ Simpson's " is there yet, as it was a hundred years 
ago, although it is now a limited company. Howard 
Paul eulogizes this place, and Stephen Fiske recom- 
mends it. Besides being a brilliant writer on dramatic 
matters, Mr. Fiske has made a study of the gastronomic 
art, and he lived in London continuously during nine 
years. The reading public put faith in Stephen Fiske's 
dramatic criticism ; his intimates also trust to his good 
taste and judgment in ordering a dinner. 

It is a well-known fact that changes in the employees 
at this establishment are seldom made. Some of the wait- 
ers have stood at the tables for nearly two decades, and 
the head waiter has been there (probably not always as 
head waiter) for more than thirty years. The name of this 



58 



WHERE TO L UNCH IN LONDON. 



head water is Charles Flowerdew, so he informed me, 
and I can impart this piece of information — that this same 
Flowerdew is a character worth studying. There is 
nothing of the ''Yellowplush " type about him, but he 
is such a character, courteous and civil (yes, seemingly 
servile to an American's eye), such as Dickens delighted 
to draw. 

Mr. Flowerdew knows all the old customers at Simp- 
son's, and, w^hat is of more consequence to a hungry 
man, he knows all the choice cuts. He will suggest 
the best dishes, the rare bits, and he will serve you 
from the joint, ad libitm?t, as he proudly remarks. 
When next you go to London, go to Simpson's, 103 
Strand. You will be sure to meet a few London notabili- 
ties, you will be sure of a good dinner, and last, but by 
no means least, you will see the polite and dignified 
Mr. Charles Flowerdew. Managing director, E. W. 
Cathie. 




RAILWAY TRAVELLING IN ENGLAND. 



While onr facilities in railway travelling have wonder- 
fully improved in the past ten years, it must not be 
supposed that in conservative England they have stood 
still entirely. But the improvements in carriage accom- 
modation there have been so steady and gradual that 
passengers hardly recognize how much more they get 
for their money now than they did a generation back. 
For instance, the old first-class carriage of forty years 
ago was fifteen feet long, six and a half feet broad, and 
less than five feet high, and this was constructed to 
seat eighteen passengers ; in other words, each person 
had about twenty-six cubic feet of space. In the car- 
riages built to-day to accommodate ten first-class 
passengers, each one has ninety cubic feet. 

Nor because we in America have such luxurious 
Pullman and vestibuled cars must it be imagined that 
the English railway carriages have not comforts and 
luxuries of their own. Some of them, for example, are 
built to seat only two or three persons, thus securing 
complete privacy to a party of that number. 

I have never occupied a more comfortable railway 
carriage than in going, as I did, last September, from 
Edinburgh to London over the lines of the Caledonian 
and London and Northwestern railways, on the world- 
famous train called the ** Flying Scotchman" — and a 
flyer it is. The distance is four hundred miles, and it is 
run in eight and one-half hours. You leave Edinburgh 
at 10.15 A.M. and reach Euston square before 7 p.m. 
As there are several important stations between the two 
cities at which long stops are made, the train must 



60 RAIL IV A V TRA V ELLIN G IN ENGLAND, 

make between many of the stations much more than 
fifty miles an hour. The speed was so great at times 
that it caused unusual vibration, and at times it gave 
me a slight reminder of sea-sickness. 

The carriage was built to seat two persons only. In 
it there were two large, softly-upholstered, sleep-inviting 
arm-chairs, one on each side of the car. Between the 
two chairs at the back was a door leading to a lavatory 
for the sole use of the two passengers. It was supplied 
with iced water, washing water, towels, mirror and all 
the etceteras and conveniences that are desirable in 
travelling. The car had in all six windows — two at 
each side and two in front. Between the two front 
windows was a handsomely-framed bevelled mirror. 
The floor was richly carpeted and the carriage was sup- 
plied with a number of brass brackets and hooks for 
the travellers' impedimenta. But more than this — 
across the front, breast high, was a shelf about six 
inches wide to hold books and papers, and below this 
another shelf about the same wddth for a foot-rest. 

The carriage was seven feet square and seven feet 
high. Here a man and wife or two friends can make 
themselves about as comfortable as if they were at home 
in their own drawing-room. You exchange your shoes 
for slippers, don your smoking jacket and if your com- 
panion does not object, you can enjoy a fragrant Havana. 
To be sure this is against the rules of the company and 
your indulgence in the weed would cost you forty shil- 
lings if you were found out, but the distances are great 
and the stops few on this ''flying Scotchman," so there 
is ample time to enjoy a smoke undisturbed. No extra 
fare is demanded for this most luxurious vehicle ; it is 
simply ranked as a first-class carriage, but you had 
better write to the station master and engage such a 
carriage a day or two in advance of your intended 
journey, for not more than one of these small private 
cars is by chance attached even to a ''flying Scotch- 



RAIL WA V TRA VELLING IN ENGLAND. 61 

man. " No extra charge is made for this engagement 
in advance. 

The complaint years ago that passengers were locked 
in the cars can seldom now be made. The custom is 
almost entirely abolished ; it caused so many accidents. 
The aim of each and every passenger on a British rail- 
way is to secure a seat with his back to the engine. In 
this way he avoids draughts of air : draughts from a 
bottle they never object to. In fact both men and women 
drink often and deeply dtiring a journey, but it does not 
seem to affect them. 

Time tables are not given away as with us : the charge 
is a penny, two cents. You never hear ** all aboard " at 
railway stations, but the much pleasanter sounding 
words, ''take your seats, please." 



LUGGAGE AND BAGGAGE. 



You do occasionally get a paper check or receipt for 
baggage on a continental railway, but in England seldom 
or never. Still a piece of baggage is seldom lost on an 
English railway. It gets to its proper destination at last, 
but it seems to be more by good luck than by good 
management. Baggage, or ''luggage," as they term it, 
goes astray sometimes, but on the other hand, the system 
for tracing and finding it is excellent. They have a ' ' lost 
luggage " department in the principal stations. 

They are very particular as to the quantity of bag- 
gage. Each passenger is allowed so many pounds. At 
every station there is an official who keeps a sharp eye 
on the porters who handle trunks, and at the slightest 
suspicion of overweight the official will order a trunk on 
the scales with which all stations are supplied. 

There are strong racks in every car for light luggage, 
but a great deal of what we should term heavy baggage 



62 RAIL WA V TRA VELLING IN ENGLAND, 

finds its way on the racks and under the seats. English- 
men travel with an extraordinary quantity of impedi- 
menta. They carry large satchels, also portmanteaus 
resembling a good-sized trunk — all because no checks 
are given. Everybody wants to keep his luggage in hand 
or in sight. 

There is a prominent sign posted in some of the large 
stations to this effect: ' 'Any porter who is discovered 
accepting a fee will be instantly dismissed. " And yet 
you can't get your trunk moved an inch without drop- 
ping a few coppers into a porter's hand. The fee sys- 
tem prevails everywhere, from the station master who 
furnishes information to the uniformed porter who 
whistles for a ** four-wheeler " or hansom. In many 
cases the door of the toilet room is only unlocked by 
dropping a penny in a slot. But this is a better arrange- 
ment than exists at stations on the continent, where an 
old woman stands guard, whom you must fee before you 
are allowed to leave. 



A ROYAL RAILWAY TRIP. 



When the Queen of England makes a railway journey 
it is an event of no ordinary importance. With her it is 
not, as with the President of the United States for 
example, so simple a matter as climbing up the steps of 
a Pullman or getting into a Pennsylvania Florida special 
or Chicago limited, and proceeding without fuss. No, 
when Queen Victoria is about to travel preparations are 
made long beforehand and all the regular arrangements 
of the road are subservient to the accommodation of the 
royal train. 

When Her Majesty journeyed by the Caledonian Rail- 
way from Carlisle to Aberdeen, en route to Gosport and 
Ballater, many days previous there was issued the table 



RAIL IVA V TRA VELLING IN ENGLAND. 63 

of instructions for working the trains over the Hne on that 
day. They were intended for the use of the company's 
employees only, who were forbidden to make known 
their contents. A pilot engine was sent over the road 
twenty minutes before the royal train, in charge of the 
foreman of the locomotive department. This engine 
maintained throughout the journey the uniform interval 
of twenty minutes. No other train, engine or vehicle, 
except passenger trains, was permitted to travel on the 
other track between the passing of the pilot and the 
royal train, and even passenger trains had to slow down 
to ten miles per hour. 

One of the orders issued was this : '* Drivers of such 
trains as are standing on sidings or adjoining lines, 
waiting for the passing of the royal train, must pre- 
vent their engines from emitting smoke or making a 
noise by blowing off steam when the royal train is 
passing." 

Brakesmen were enjoined to see that nothing pro- 
jected from their trains. Each foreman plate-layer, or 
"section-boss," as we would say, after examining his 
length of line, stationed himself at the south end and an 
assistant at the north ; after the pilot had passed they 
walked till they met, seeing that all was right. The 
stations were kept clear and the public admitted at one 
station only, the last. Even here, cheering or other 
demonstration was forbidden, ''the object being that 
Her Majesty should be perfectly undisturbed during 
the journey." These instructions, signed by James 
Thompson, general manager, and Irvine Kempt, gen- 
eral superintendent, were obeyed in their minuest de- 
tail. 

It must not be supposed that the company has to 
pocket the loss when the Queen travels. The royal 
lady not only does not travel on ''passes," but she pays 
all expenses incurred. A copy of the instructions 
printed in gold are presented to the Queen and she can- 



64 RAIL WA y TRA VELLING IN ENGLAND, 

not fail to be gratified by the care and thought exhibited 
by the company. 

The entire mileage of the Caledonian Railway is one 
thousand miles ; the main line from Carlisle to Aber- 
deen, over which the queen travelled, is about two 
hundred and forty miles. It traverses a beautiful coun- 
try. From this great trunk run out branches and 
connections by steamer in all directions — reaching to 
all big towns of the country, most of the small ones, and 
all the districts famed in Scottish song or history, the 
highlands, the lochs, the seaboard, etc. The road is a 
model road and one of the best appointed in Great 
Britain. The tourist, the student and the sportsman 
are offered strong inducements to avail themselves of 
the tours arranged by the Caledonian company. 



THE NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY. 



One of the largest English railway systems is that of 
the London & Northwestern. The territory covered by 
this railway extends from London in the south to Car- 
lisle in the north, and from Cambridge in the east to 
Holyhead in the west — an area of three hundred miles 
in breadth. The main office of the government is in 
London, but the capital, so to speak, is Crewe, a town 
of thirty-five thousand inhabitants consisting entirely 
of the employees of the railway and their families. The 
total number in the railway's service does not fall far 
short of sixty thousand. The annual budget amounts 
to ten million pounds, while the funded debt has 
reached a total of one hundred million pounds sterling. 

The London and Northwestern shops at Crewe have 
to keep in repair a stock of engines that is worth five 
million pounds sterling, and while they do not indeed 
put a girdle round the earth every forty minutes, they 



RAIL WA Y TEA VELLIXG IN ENGLAND, 65 

do literally every four hours, and in doing so the en- 
gines consume a million tons of coal per annum. On an 
average, it is reckoned that every five days an old en- 
gine is withdrawn and replaced by a new one. 

Of late years the company has been experimenting on 
an extensive scale with a system of metallic permanent 
way. Steel " keys " fasten the rails into steel *' chairs," 
which in their turn are riveted down to steel sleepers. 
About thirty miles of line has been laid on this system, 
with about sixty thousand sleepers. So far the results 
are understood to be satisfactory. The question in- 
volved in the conflict between steel and wooden sleep- 
ers is gigantic. A rough calculation shows that to re- 
place the wooden sleepers on existing lines in Great Brit- 
ain only would require about four million tons of steel, 
without reckoning the weight of the chairs and keys. 
And great Britain has only one-fifteenth of the railway 
mileage of the world. 

In some ways the goods traffic arrangements of the 
road at Liverpool are even more remarkable than those 
in London. At Liverpool the Northwestern has six goods 
stations, two of them reached by tunnels each a mile 
and a quarter in length, constructed for their use alone. 
One of these stations, Edgehill, is called a goods 
*'yard," but this yard contains fifty-seven and a half 
miles of land, covers two hundred acres of ground, and 
has cost about two million pounds sterling — nearly ten 
millions of dollars. 

The conductors on the New York street cars, like the 
New York policemen, are sullen and sour ; they seem 
ill-tempered, if not ill-natured. You seldom or never 
see a smile on their lips, and as for giving utterance to 
the common and easy phrase, *' thank you," when they 
receive a fare, they wouldn't be guilty of such a piece of 
politeness ; not they. 

It is different in England, on the Continent, every- 
where in Europe. Whether on a steam road, a steam- 



66 RAIL WA V TRA VELLING IN ENGLAND, 

boat, a tram or an omnibus, no officer nor conductor 
would think of receiving a fare without thanking a pas- 
senger audibly, and even when an officer opens the 
door or looks into the window of a carriage for the pur- 
pose of examining tickets, you will not hear the short, 
sharp, curt demand, ** tickets," as in the States, but 
"all tickets, please," in a pleasant and agreeable tone. 





AN HOUR WITH SPURGEON 



London, October i, i 
The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon still draws crowds to his 
tabernacle, which is situated in a part of London called 
Newington Butts. It is by no means a fashionable dis- 
trict, being in the Southeast end of the city. You tell 
any *' cabby " to drive you to Spurgeon's church and he 
will put you down at the door. But it is only a twenty 
minutes' ride on a 'bus from Charing Cross ; fare four 
cents. 

That Mr. Spurgeon attracts great throngs of hearers, 
every one knows, but here are a few figures: His taber- 
nacle accommodates between six and seven thousand 
people, and on Sunday morning, September 28, whea 



68 AN HOUR WITH SPURGEON. 

the writer was present, five thousand four hundred peo- 
ple listened to him. This was in September, be it re- 
membered, when everybody is out of town and ''Lon- 
don is empty." 

The regular members and attendants ascend the stone 
steps and enter the church through the front door ; 
strangers and visitors get in by a side entrance, through 
an alleyway, and as they pass in, a tiny paper envelope 
is handed to each person. You drop into the envelope 
as much or as little coin as you please (for no human eye 
is watching you) and this envelope you in turn drop into 
an open box on your left, this method probably taking 
the place of a collection, which would be so difficult to 
manage where five or six thousand people have to be 
approached. 

People sometimes ask what is the secret of this preach- 
er's distinguished success ? The foundation of his suc- 
cess is his earnestness and evident sincerity. 

He impresses his hearers with the belief that he be- 
lieves what he is preaching. He does not seem to be 
making a profession or business of religion. There is 
nothing perfunctory in his manner ; he rejoices in his 
calling. 

Then again Spurgeon is a good and effective speaker. 
He talks in a slow, deliberate way, his enunciation being 
clear and his pronunciation perfect. Each word is dis- 
tinct and clean cut. His accent is cosmopolitan ; there 
is nothing local in it. Except for the pronunciation of a 
few words, such for instance, as the word "after," to 
which Mr. Spurgeon gives the broad sound heard in 
England, you might be puzzled to know whether the 
great divine was born " within the sound of Bow Bells " 
or graduated from Columbia College. 

His language hypercritical people might not call 
choice, but I beg to differ with them ; it is exceedingly 
choice, being directly to the point, and like the man 
himself, simple and strong. There is no searching for 



AN HOUR WITH SPURGEON. 69 

fine phrases and well-rounded periods. His ideas flow 
freely and they quickly find expression : there is no ef- 
fect aimed at. The man trusts to the matter of his dis- 
course, never troubhng himself about his manner. 

His gesticulations are few, natural and not at all dra- 
matic. He will raise his right h::.nd or occasionally take 
a step towards a small table hard by : nothing more. 
His voice is not musical, nor is it especially pleasing to a 
stranger's ear ; but it is firm, clear and penetrating, 
possessing those qualities most demanded in a public 
speaker. 

On the morning of which I write Mr. Spurgeon took 
his text from Psalm 63, 7th verse, and held his hearers 
spell-botmd for about forty minutes by his brilliant illus- 
trations, his convincing arguments and his earnestness, 
for above and beyond all he is deeply in earnest. His 
prayer is beautiful ; he touches a responsive chord in 
every heart in his fervent appeals to God for mercy and 
help. 

Before the sermon there was singing of psalms and 
hymns. Mr. Spurgeon gave out hymn No. 916, '* Going 
to Worship." It was congregational singing, without 
instrumental music, one man near the pulpit acting as a 
sort of leader. The singing was too slow for the 
preacher. After the second verse he called aloud to the 
congregation to sing faster, himself beating time with 
his right hand. Psalm 34 was next given out, but when 
the first verse had been sung Mr. Spurgeon stopped the 
singing abruptly and said in a tone which was meant to 
be commanding : " I must beg that if you sing at all, 
you sing faster : there's more heart in it if you sing 
quicker. Praise God as if you meant it ; put your soul 
in the words : it will be more welcome if there's spirit 
init." 

Mr. Spurgeon's deacons, about twelve in all, are 
seated on two rows of seats behind him, he and they oc- 
cupying a high platform and prominent place — probably 



70 



AN HOUR WITH SPURGEON, 



fifteen feet above the floor of the church, where all can 
get a good view of the man's features — all except the 
deacons. 

The great preacher is now in his fifty-sixth year. 
Like his character and his language, physically he looks 
strong and rugged, but his health is not good. 

Mr. Spurgeon belongs to a family of gospel ministers. 
His grandfather was an English divine ; his father, Rev. 
James Archer Spurgeon, still living, now occupies, or 
did occupy until very recently, a pulpit in London ; and 
he has two sons who follow his profession — one at 
Greenwich, near London, and one at Auckland, New 
Zealand. 



P. S. — Mr. Spurgeon died at Mentone, France, on 
Sunday, January 21, 1892, deeply regretted by all who 
had ever heard him or heard of him. 




THE CRYPT OF ST. PAUL'S. 



All Americans who go to London visit Westminster 
Abbey, and some of them make more than one visit. 
There is a rare charm about the grand old pile. I 
never go to London without visiting the Abbey, and 
this was also the custom of the late Aaron J. Vander- 
poel, with whom I had the honor of crossing once or 
twice. On one voyage westward, a fellow passenger 
was James R. Cuming, of the famous law firm of Van- 
derpoel, Cuming and Goodwin. Mr. Cuming and I were 
fellow students in the old law firm of Brown, Hall and 
Vanderpoel in the days of District Attorney Blunt, 
never-mind-how-many years ago. Mr. Cuming's hair is 
now tinged with gray, but he has the same genial, 
agreeable qualities, and he is just as modest, eminent 
and successful lawyer though he now is, as he was 
when he and I were boys together in the Broadway 
Bank building on the comer of Broadway and Park 
place. But none of this personal matter has aught to 
do with the subject in hand. 

I was about to say that while all Americans go to 
Westminster Abbey to see the monuments and other in- 
teresting things, all of them do not know that two of 
England's greatest men, their most renowned heroes of 
modem times, are buried in St. Paul's Cathedral — Lord 
Nelson and the Duke of Wellington, 

One reason why American and other tourists who 
visit St. Paul's seldom see the tombs of these great 
men is because they do not know that the cathedral 
contains them. The tombs are in the crypt, and un- 



72 THE CRYPT OF ST PAUL'S, 

less you knock on the great iron gates leading to 
the crypt and pay a sixpence, you cannot obtain ad- 
mission. 

But besides the tombs of these two celebrities, a num- 
ber of other eminent Englishmen lie buried in the 
cathedral. Among the monuments (over their tombs) 
may be read the names of General Gordon, Admiral 
Napier, Sir Christopher Wren, the architect, and the 
famous artists, Sir Joshua Reynolds and J. W. M. 
Turner — in fact, as there is a Poet's corner in Westmin- 
ster Abbey, so there is a Painter's Corner in St. Paul's 
Cathedral. 

Nelson's remains are covered by a great sarcophagus 
of black marble, which was intended for the tomb of 
Cardinal Wolsey. The Duke of Wellington is buried in 
a sarcophagus of porphyry, of which the upper part, 
forming the lid, alone weighs seventeen tons. 

A visit to St. Paul's discovers many other interesting 
things, and it is the opinion of the writer that it is one of 
the three grandest public buildings of modern times, the 
other two being the Capitol in Washington and the Palais 
de Justice in Brussels. 

The cathedral itself has an interesting history. The 
first St. Paul's Cathedral was built by Ethelbert of 
Kent, in the year 6io. It is said to have been destroyed 
by fire in 961, rebuilt and again destroyed by fire in 
1086, rebuilt again and for the third time destroyed by 
fire in 1666. The present structure was built by Sir 
Christopher Wren and took thirty-five years to complete, 
being finished in 17 10, at a cost of something like 
;£747»954 sterling — nearly four millions of dollars. It 
covers more than two acres of ground. The height from 
the pavement to the top of the cross is three hundred and 
sixty-four feet three inches. You get a good view of 
the building from the Thames. The best view of the 
building, however, is from the top of an omnibus 
going east down Fleet street, but this view is now some- 



THE CRYPT OF ST. PAUL'S. 



73 



what marred or obstructed by the railway arch which 
crosses Ludgate Circus. 

A few figures about the bell and the clock may not be 
without interest. The former, called Great Paul, 
weighs sixteen tons, fourteen hundredweight, two quar- 
ters, nineteen pounds ; height, eight feet ten inches ; 
diameter at base, nine feet six and a half inches ; thick- 
ness where the clapper strikes, eighteen and three-quar- 
ter inches. The clapper is seven feet nine inches long 
and weighs four hundredweight. The note is E flat. 
The clock has two faces, each nearly twenty feet in 
diameter. The minute hand is nine feet eight inches 
long and weighs seventy-five pounds ; the hour hand is 
five feet nine inches long and weighs forty-four pounds. 
The hour figures are two feet, two and a half inches 
long. The pendulum is sixteen feet long and to it is at- 
tached a weight of one hundred and eight pounds. It 
beats once in two seconds. 




THE QUEEN'S MEWS. 



Windsor, the royal residence, twenty-five miles from 
London, attracts of course many American visitors, its 
features of interest including, besides the castle and 
park, the celebrated stables. But as for stables, the 
Queen's Mews, near the centre of London, offer a much 
more brilliant show. Admission is gained with little 
difficulty or formality — by Americans. You simply call 
at the American Legation in Victoria street, two or three 
blocks (as we'd say in New York), from the Victoria 
railway station — a '* penny 'bus" from Charing Cross 
passes the door. It is not necessary to ask for Minister 
Lincoln ; your card sent to Mr. White, the secretary of 
the legation, or, in his absence, to Mr. McCormick, the 
courteous assistant secretary, will secure you in return 
the necessary pasteboard for yourself and party to visit 
the Queen's Mews in Buckingham Palace road — a very 
short walk from the legation and a stone's throw, so to 
speak, from Victoria station. 

The stables cover a few acres of ground. They con- 
tain the royal harness, the carriage of state and other 
carriages, and have stalls for about one hundred horses, 
in the care of all of which about thirty or forty men are 
employed, those longest in the service being privileged 
to live on the premises. There is nothing very remark- 
able about the horses' quarters ; the stalls are not more 
luxurious nor are they kept in better condition than 
many private gentlemen's stables in New York and 
Newport, nor are the horses particularly worthy of note, 
excepting the ten large black stallions and eight 

cream-colored stallions, used in drawing the state car- 

74 



THE QUEEN'S MEWS. 75 

riage on state occasions, as, for instance, when the 
Queen opens parhament. The tails of these stalhons, 
the blacks and cream-colored, all reach to and almost 
sweep the ground, with the exception of one big black 
animal, whose brevity of appendage is made up on state 
occasions by the addition of a false tail. 

The harness for ordinary use is of black leather with 
elaborate bright brass trimmings, that for state occa- 
sions is also of black leather, the crowns and coats-of- 
arms, in solid metal, being heavily and richly gilded. 
The harness is kept in perfect condition, and kept on 
show, protected by glass doors and windows. You may 
see and admire the royal reins, but they are not to be 
handled by common fingers. 

Among the carriages there is one kept for its past his- 
tory and glory, not for present use — a gaudy, gilded, 
theatrical-looking vehicle, the weight of which is four 
tons, the great, heavily-tired wheels of which measure 
six feet in diameter, the whole being of the respectable 
age of one hundred and thirty years. The most beauti- 
ful feature of this curious relic of by-gone days is the 
eight pictures set in as many panels, painted by Cipri- 
ani, an Italian artist famous in his day. 

But the carriages for Her Majesty's ordinary use and 
the carriage which is reserved for state occasions, which 
is drawn by the eight cream horses, are models of com- 
fort, luxury and beauty. They are upholstered with 
dark blue cloth, the only interior ornaments being of 
worsted fringe matching the cloth in color. The wheels 
and body are dark blue, the panels being painted in a 
lighter shade, the centre of each door panel relieved by 
the royal crest of arms painted in rich colors, but not 
larger in size than a silver dollar. The carriages are 
hung on C springs and yield from any point to the 
slightest touch. 

I ventured the remark to one of the footmen in charge 
that when Her Majesty places her foot on the step her 



76 



THE QUEEN'S MEWS, 



weight must make quite a depression of the springs. 
** Does it," said the royal flunky; ''you should stand 
*ere when the Duchess of Teck gets in. The Queen's 
cousin is a werry heavy woman, God bless her. If you 
was to see her get in you would see a depression, or 
whatever you call it. " 

You will make a mistake if on leaving the Mews you 
do not drop a shilling into the ready palm of both coach- 
man and footman. 




A QUESTION OF HATS, 



Americans treat women better, both at home and 
abroad than they are treated elsewhere, and they cer- 
tainly show the sex more deference and respect in pub- 
lic and private than women are accustomed to receive 
in many older countries. 

An American seldom addresses one of the gentler sex 
with his head covered, unless it is in the open air ; and 
while this is also the custom in some European coun- 
tries — in France and Switzerland, for instance — it is not 
nearly so common in Germany or Great Britain. 

Englishmen with whom I have talked do not seem to 
notice such things, but I know from long and careful 
observation, that men in London sit with their heads 
covered during the whole of a theatrical performance. 
They occupy seats in *'the pit," to be sure, but **the 
pit " in London is compared by some with the back rows 
of the parquette in American theatres. 

Should this meet the eye of a barrister, he might 
charge me with being too general in my remarks. If 
he demands, in his ** answer" to this ''complaint," a 
** bill of particulars, " I will mention, among places where 
I saw men sit covered during the whole evening, the 
Savoy Theatre, when ''The Gondoliers" was played, 
and the Shaftesbury Theatre, where Willard performed 
in *' Judah " in September, 1890. 

At a Covent Garden concert in the same year, I saw 
four or five hundred persons on the floor (men and 
women) and not more than six men carried their hats in 
their hands. I remember remarking at the time that 
one-third of the number of hats were of silk plush 



« A QUESTION OF HATS, 

(*'top hats")» one-third were derbys of a brownish 
hue, the other third were mixed — all sorts. 

Even in the dress circle at a Covent Garden concert 
some men wear their hats the whole evening — white 
hats, derbys, and heavy silk hats — and this in warm 
weather, too. It no doubt is the custom ; at any rate 
such was the case on a certain " American night " (sum- 
mer of 1890) when American airs were played, Mrs. 
Alice Shaw, the beautiful whistler, being the special at- 
traction among the solo performers. 

And when men at London theatres do remove their 
hats, they seem to do it reluctantly. They will enter a 
theatre and enter a box, remove their overcoat and 
gloves, take out opera glass, and spread the play bill 
before them, and then, as'a last thought, if they think 
about it at all, the hat will be slowly removed ; they 
seem to be unwilling to part with it. How different in 
American theatres, where every man quickly doffs his 
hat the moment he enters the door of the auditorium. 
It is all the more noticeable in London theatres because 
the women are obliged to remove their hats before en- 
tering, and excepting at the Lyceum, the Savoy, and 
possibly one or two other houses, they are obliged to 
pay for their care. 

At third and second-class London restaurants, men 
wear their hats as do people of the same class else- 
where, but some men in England not only carry their 
hats into the dining-room of a first-class hotel, but 
carry them on their heads until they take their seats ; 
the presence of women makes no difference. 

The editor of the New York Press says : " There is 
no surer test of a nation's sense of courtesy than its 
treatment of women. Judged by this standard, the 
people of the United States stand above those of any 
other nation on the face of the globe/* 



LONDON ODDITIES. 



It serves the purpose of correspondents as well as of 
the postal authorities to add the postal district initials in 
addressing letters to London — as for instance, C, indi- 
cating central, or S. W., Southwest. There are eight of 
these districts, and the necessity for adding the initials 
will be seen when one learns that in London there are 
no less than thirty-five King streets, thirty Queen streets, 
eighteen York streets, a Victoria Park in the extreme 
east, one Queen Victoria street, a Victoria railway sta- 
tion in the Southwestern district, a Hotel Victoria in the 
western central and a Victoria Hotel in quite another 
district. 

The postal system in London is as near perfection as 
it is possible to make it. Few letters go astray, and the 
delivery is prompt, there being from six to twelve de- 
liveries daily ; but by neglecting to add the initial let- 
ter of the district a letter may be delayed several hours. 
There are three thousand offices and pillar boxes in 
London, but in addressing letters take care and take 
into consideration that there are nearly six millions of 
people in London, that the streets and squares cover 
eight thousand acres, and within a radius of fifteen miles 
of Charing Cross seven hundred square miles are cov- 
ered. Correspondence between England and the United 
States also shows wonderful increase. Ten years ago 
the number of letters which annually passed between 
the two countries was eight millions ; at present the 
number is twenty-four millions. Reduction of postage 
rates has of course had something to do with this great 
increase and it will bear further reduction. 



60 LONDON ODDITIES, 

I happened to be near Eiiston station and wanted to 
go to my hotel in Northumberland avenue. I stepped 
into a hansom, and not wishing to be taken for a 
stranger I simply said ''Victoria Hotel." In five minutes 
Mr. Cabbie pulled up in front of what seemed to be a gin 
palace, bearing the sign plain enough, "Victoria Hotel." 
" I want the hotel in Northumberland avenue," I said to 
the driver. ''Then why didn't you say Hotel Victoria," 
was the sharp response, and cabbie charged me a fare 
and a half to emphasize the distinction. 

The growth of London is something marvelous. 
More than ten thousand houses annually, or, it may be 
roughly stated, one thousand houses every month, are 
added to London. In August of 1889, 754,464 houses 
were supplied with water by the water companies, or 
11,113 below the number in the same month of 1890. In 
September, 1890, the companies had to supply 10,976 
houses more than in September of 1889. In August of 
that 3"ear 765,577 houses were supplied with water, and 
in September, 1891, that number had increased to 
766,797. 

The London police are a pleasant, polite set of men, 
and if they do not refuse the price of a pint of beer for 
a slight service, neither will they refuse to answ^er any 
question, respectfully and satisfactorily. The contrast 
is very striking between these good-tempered, obliging 
officers, and the sullen, saucy, sour-visaged, tobacco- 
chewing New York policeman who is just as ready to 
answer with his club, w^hich he carries exposed, as he is 
with his uncivil tongue. London policemen are paid 
from six to seven and a half dollars per week : New 
York policemen from sixteen to twenty-four dollars 
weekly. A London police sergeant gets only ten dollars 
a week. 

Sixpence for a Play Bill. — At the Prince of Wales 
Theatre and at the Shaftesbury you are charged six- 
pence for a bill of the play, and at the majority of London 



LONDON ODDITIES, 81 

theatres you pay for a programme. The exceptions are 
Irving's Lyceum and D'Oyly Carte's Savoy, where no 
employee is allowed to accept a fee of any kind — not if 
the manager knows it. That does not say, however, 
that a '*tip" for a programme is unexpected, even at 
the two houses named. 

Civility and Servility. — There's a difference be- 
tween civility and servility. You are pleased to have 
an omnibus conductor audibly '' thank you " when you 
hand him your fare, but in the London shops a sales- 
woman will do the same thing even when you make no 
purchase. At the pleasant Nayland Rock Hotel in Mar- 
gate, on the south coast of England, a waiter will thank 
you for allowing him to put a clean plate before you, or 
when he hands you a glass of water — if you can get 
such a thing as water at your meals in an English hotel. 
It is not obtainable without a little trouble ; everybody 
drinks wine. 

Soot, Soot, Everywhere.— Owing to the use of soft 
coal in London, white buildings are soon changed into 
black ones, partially. This change, especially where 
one side of a set of Corinthian columns, for instance, 
remains the original color, and the other side has grad- 
ually turned very dark, gives some of the churches and 
public buildings a picturesque and pleasing appearance. 
Yellow brick is very largely used, but it soon changes 
color. If you place a tumbler of water outside your 
window at night with the idea of keeping it cool, for 
you rarely see a piece of ice, you will find a number of 
tiny globules of soot floating on the surface of the 
water in the morning. And it is exceedingly difficult in 
London to make weather prognostications, the sun be- 
ing usually hidden or half -hidden by London smoke, if 
not by fog. 

Exchanging Compliments.— Englishmen say "as 
drunk as a Scotchman, " and Scotchmen have a saying 
** as durr as an Englishman, " ' ' Durr " implies something 



83 LONDON ODDITIES. 

more than quiet : it means surly, sullen. It cannot be 
denied that English tourists are unusually quiet : they 
seldom speak without having been formally introduced. 
That reminds me that two or three years ago I was 
traveling on the Midland road from London to I/iver- 
pool, and I happened to make some casual remark to a 
fellow traveler who was a stranger to me. The gen- 
tleman replied very briefly but courteously, and then 
added : ** Beg pardon, you hail from the other side, do 
you not?" •* Yes, but why do you ask?" *'If I didn't 
detect it in your accent," said my neighbor, **I should 
know it because you addressed me. I have been trav- 
eling between London and Liverpool now for many 
years, and I am never spoken to but by an American, 
and I rather like it." 

There are no " cross-walks," as we call them, in the 
cities of Great Britain ; none are needed. Nor does 
anybody cross the street at right angles, as we do in 
New York. Everybody crosses diagonally, from corner 
to corner, or crosses in the middle of the block. The 
road-ways are so smooth and well paved that all parts 
are alike, and it is never necessary to pick your way. 
In New York, besides exercising great vigilance to pre- 
vent being knocked down and run over by vehicles, you 
must always keep one eye on the ground while cross- 
ing. You may be upset by a car track, or you may step 
between two stone blocks that are a foot apart, more 
or less. 

As TO Oysters. — English oysters still retain their 
flavor, a great deal of flavor ; in fact they have entirely 
too much — that is to say, too much for anybody whose 
palate is not accustomed to the peculiar taste. You can 
get oysters as low as a shilling a dozen, but choice 
" Whitstables, " that have a strong, coppery flavor, come 
as high as four shillings a dozen. For the uneducated 
American palate, Chesapeake oysters, or the Great 
South Bay blue points are good enough. 



LONDON ODDITIES, 83 

Servants' Wages. — Servant girls' wages in England 
are not nearly so high as they are in the United States. 
Even hotel chambermaids, who are paid better than 
family servants, only receive fourteen pounds sterling a 
year — about ninety dollars, but each one is allowed a 
fortnight's holiday (with pay) at the end of the summer. 
And the '* tips " they receive from the guests are well 
worth consideration. 

There are differences between the habits of London 
and New York women and here is one of the minor 
points : New York women go " shopping," that is to say 
they go into one store after another to examine the 
goods, as a diversion or pastime ; English women never 
enter a shop without the intention to purchase ; they 
make a business and not a pastime of replenishing their 
wardrobe. To go on a shopping tour American women 
often wear fine gowns and rich jewelry ; English women 
on the contrary, dress very plainly when engaged in 
their business of purchasing. They reserve their fine 
clothes for the opera or for receptions, wearing no extra 
finery even for ordinary visiting. They are not seen 
parading the streets in silks and satins, and that is why 
some American writers who do not observe closely say 
that*' English women in the street dress in dowdy style." 

No *'FoRELADiEs" IN LONDON. — At the great dry- 
goods house and outfitting establishment of Debenham 
& Freebody, in Wigmore street, not far from the Lang- 
ham Hotel, all the saleswomen are expected, nay, are 
obhged to dress in black. They number two hundred, 
but not a '' saleslady " nor a ''forelady " among them. 
They make derision of these terms, which are so com- 
monly heard in New York. The firm also employs six 
or seven hundred young men. All the unmarried em- 
ployees live on the premises, and this plan is found to 
operate satisfactorily to all concerned. The young men 
wear black coat, waistcoat and necktie. Manv years 
ago salesmen in London dry goods houses were not 



84 LONDON ODDITIES. 

allowed to wear a moustache, but there is more liberty 
now and they can adorn their faces as fancy dictates. 

You don't hear the words, corsets, dresses nor pounds, 
in London shops of the first class, such as Kate Reily's, 
Debenham & Freebody's or Redfern's. They have 
gone back to the old-fashioned term — stays, gowns and 
guineas. English merchants favor the last term because 
a guinea is worth a shilling more than a pound. 

Customs in Art Galleries Abroad and at Home. — 
The English National Gallery, in Trafalgar square, Lon- 
don, like our Metropolitan Museum of Art and like nearly 
all galleries in different parts of the world, is only open 
free on certain days of the week, while the great French 
collection at the Louvre, in Paris (probably the largest 
and most valuable collection of pictures under one roof) 
is always free, and may be visited without application 
to any circumlocution office. The Louvre is open six 
days of every week in the year ; only on Mondays are 
the public not admitted, the officers reserving Monday 
for repairs and cleaning. In nearly all of the public 
galleries of Europe, as in the Corcoran gallery in Wash- 
ington, you are obliged to leave your umbrella or walk- 
ing stick in charge of an official at the door and for the 
care of such an article a fee is charged in some places ; 
at the Louvre you may carry into the galleries as many 
umbrellas and bundles as you please. This is not al- 
ways an advantage : for my part I am only too glad to 
be relieved of my umbrella and overcoat on such 
occasions. It seems strange that men while viewing 
pictures in the foreign galleries should persist in wear- 
ing their hats — it seems strange to a New Yorker ; the 
custom being so different at our Academy of Design. 



POVERTY AND CHARITY IN ENGLAND. 



The drinking habit among men and among women 
and giris still remains the curse of Great Britain, and its 
companion, poverty, is everywhere. But if the poverty 
is striking and awful to behold, its next-door neighbor, 
charity, God be praised, aims to keep pace with it. Hos- 
pitals and other philanthropic institutions supported by 
voluntary contributions, are to be seen almost wherever 
the eye turns in the United Kingdom. 

The patriotic and other public funds, to meet special 
emergencies at home and abroad, may well challenge 
the world's admiration, not only for the princely amounts 
subscribed, but also for the hearty and expeditious way 
in which the funds are raised. The charitable institu- 
tions of the city of London number upwards of one 
thousand, and simply of asylums for the aged (colleges, 
hospitals and almshouses), there are one hundred and 
twenty distinct institutions. 

But to return to the drinking habit, which presents 
itself before you constantly: I was riding up to London 
from Margate with a hotel-keeper, at whose house, on the 
edge of the surf, I had been staying for a week, and I 
remarked that the drinking w^ater at Margate w^as of 
good quality. '* Is it ? " said Mr, Knaggs, for this is the 
name of the agreeable gentleman who presided for 
three years over the destinies of the Nayland Rock 
Hotel. ** Is it ? " said mine host. ''Well, you know more 
about it than I do, for I've never tasted it." 

On Sunday, w^hile at dinner at Philp's Cockbum Hotel, 
Edinburgh, just before dessert was served, a small box 
was passed around the table by a waiter and into it 



86 PO VERTY AND CHARITY IN ENGLAND. 

people were dropping sixpences, shillings and pieces of 
higher denomination. At once it occurred to me, here's 
another overcharge or extra I had not counted on, and I 
began inwardly to rebel. "What's this for ? " I blurted 
out in a rather injured tone. * * Collection for the Orphan 
School, sir," and I gladly added my mite. Afterwards I 
saw moneyboxes in hotels and restaurants in other parts 
of Scotland and in England labelled, for example, "For 
Charing Cross Hospital; funds urgently needed," etc. 
Little boys and young women go about the busy and 
better parts of London on Sundays with boxes in their 
hands, begging you to ' * drop a penny in " for this charity 
or that — and you find it very hard, indeed, in London to 
keep any coppers in your pocket, so strong are the ap- 
peals. On hospital days the number of hospital boxes is 
largely increased temporarily. At this time sheets are 
spread in churchyards, into which people throw their 
spare change liberally. 

"The People's Palace," which was opened by the 
Queen in jubilee year, is a noble illustration of the char- 
itable English heart. The " People's Palace " is situated 
in one of the poorer quarters of London, and, as every- 
body knows, is the realization of an ideal conception of 
Walter Besantin his novel, "All Sorts and Conditions of 
Men." The palace includes a well-stocked library; a 
reading-room, supplied with papers from all parts of the 
world ; a large swimming bath and a hall for musical 
and literary entertainments. In the basement of one of 
the main buildings boys are taught trades by which they 
may earn their living. That the recipients of all this 
good may not feel that they are objects of cold charity, 
a slight charge per month is made for those who use the 
reading-room, library, swimming bath, etc., and there 
is a nominal charge, about four cents each person, 
for admission to the concerts and lectures, which 
are given gratuitously by musicians and lecturers of 
celebrity. 



POVERTY AND CHARITY IN ENGLAND, 87 

I visited that part of the Whitechapel neighborhood 
which "Jack the Ripper" made infamous as the scene 
of his murders. It was a vile place three years ago, but 
the scene has been changed as if by a fairy hand. The 
Baroness Rothschild opened wide her heart and purse 
and erected here, for the poor of this unfortunate quar- 
ter, blocks of modem model tenements. These she lets 
at very low rents, asking only three per cent, return for 
her investment. In connection with the tenements the 
noble woman has built a well-appointed "Club and 
Library," with billiard-room, etc., for the amusement of 
her tenants. These premises are in charge of a custodian 
and his wife, who are paid for their services by the 
Baroness ; and for the use of the " Club and Library " 
a merely nominal charge is made to any of the tenants 
who avail themselves of the privilege. It is not sectar- 
ian. In England they believe in " Faith, Hope and 
Charity," and of these three that "the greatest is 
Charity." 




WHERE IS CHARING CROSS? 



You hear a great deal about Charing Cross in Lon- 
don, but you may look in vain for a street sign bearing 
that name. Very few people in London know exactly 
where it is, nor does even the policeman on the '* beat " 
know. Strange to say, neither the Charing Cross Hos- 
pital, the Charing Cross Station, nor the Charing Cross 
Hotel is in Charing Cross. Much as it is talked about, 
it is a very short street, extending easterly only from 
Cockspur street, then southerly, past the equestrian 
statue of Charles I. to Scotland Yard or Whitehall. 
Low's Exchange is in Charing Cross, and within two or 
three hundred feet of that spot (No. 57), is the very cen- 
tre of the city of London. From this spot cab fares are 
reckoned. Start from here and you can ride anywhere, 
within a radius of two miles, for one shilling. Low's Ex- 
change, by the way, is a very popular rendezvous in Lon- 
don for Americans. It is where they * ' most congre- 
gate," and it offers many conveniences for travellers. 

If you are traveling on the other side make this your 
headquarters. Telegrams, letters, and even printed 
matter are forwarded to you with the utmost prompt- 
ness. A special work of the house is the securing of 
state rooms on board steamers. It saves you much 
worry and bother, and the service of this agency costs 
you nothing, Mr. Low getting his pay from the steam- 
ship companies. Edwin H. Low served his apprentice- 
ship, as it were, to this business, in the office of the Na- 
tional Steamship Company in New York, many years 
ago, and since then he has had large experience. The 
headquarters of the concern are at 947 Broadway, and 
Mr. Low may be seen sometimes at his New York 
house, at other times in London, but there is a very 
capable man who acts as general manager for Mr. Low 
in Charing Cross — Mr. George Glanvill, who served 
Mr. Gillig for many years at the American Exchange, 
449 Strand. By all means register at Low's. 



MARGATE, 

AN ENGLISH WATERING PLACE. 



I was ill in London, at the Windsor Hotel in the sum- 
mer of 1890, and as my friend Dr. Walter M. Fleming of 
New York happened to be in London at the time, at the 
Savoy Hotel, I sent for him. The fact is that I had 
been recei\'ing too much '' attention " from my friends 
— dinners, drives, concerts, theatres, suppers, etc., all of 
which resulted in physical and ner^'ous exhaustion. 

Dr. Fleming's prescription was simple — "rest and a 
change of air," but as this was Dr. Fleming's first visit 
to England, I began to question my friends and others 
as to the best pharmacy at which to have the prescrip- 
tion filled. The proprietor of the Windsor Hotel, Mr. J. 
R. Cleave, said ''Margate ; " so, too, said the intelHgent 
manager of the house, Mr. Mann. An old and trusted 
friend wrote me, '' Don't go to Margate, go to Brighton 
or to Hastings." Thus opinions differed. I knew all 
about Brighton and wanted to see a place new to me. 
I was much inclined to go to Hastings, but a concen- 
sus of opinion prevailed in favor of ^largate. 

" There's a beautiful air at Margate," is the response 
of ever^^one in England to whom you speak of that 
place, from the boys at Low's exchange in Charing 
Cross to Mr. Richard Whiteing, editor of the London 
Daily News. This remark was also made to me by 
Major Arthur Griffiths, an English author and littera- 
teur, who is known and esteemed on both sides of the 
Atlantic. So to Margate I went. 

Margate is on the south coast of England, sevent^'-five 
miles from London, whence it is reached by the London, 



90 MARGATE, 

Chatham and Dover Railway. This is the road celebrated 
for the beautiful rural scenery that borders it ; it passes 
through the prettiest parts of Kent, '*the garden of 
England," through Rochester and Canterbury, famous 
for their cathedrals, and other places of historic and 
scenic interest. You may also reach Margate by steamer 
from London Bridge. It is a pleasant sail on the Thames 
of ninety-three miles. 

Having arrived at Margate, you can make it the 
starting point for many a delightful excursion. Boul- 
ogne on the French coast, for instance, across the chan- 
nel, is directly opposite Margate ; steamer fare round 
trip, six shillings — a dollar and a half. 

Other pleasant excursions are made to Canterbury 
and to Ramsgate. To these places run * ' pleasure vans " 
accommodating twenty persons and the fare ranges 
from threepence to a shilling, according to the style of 
vehicle. If you do not care to patronize the pleasure 
vans, you may hire a victoria at two shillings per hour. 
Canterbury is the site of the famous cathedral. At 
Ramsgate lived the Jewish philanthropist, Sir Moses 
Montefiore, for nearly the length of his long and useful 
life — one hundred years. 

Another interesting excursion is to the old-fashioned 
village of Broadstairs, for many years the home of 
Charles Dickens. The house Dickens occupied and 
which he called ** Bleak House," still stands on its com- 
manding site at the top of the cliffs directly overlooking 
the sea. A description of Bleak House, with illustra- 
tion, appeared in the Home Journal in January, 1891, 
and has been widely copied in this country as well as in 
England. Broadstairs is only a five-mile drive from 
Margate, fare by victoria four shillings. 

Few Americans who cross the ocean go to Margate, 
but they may spend a couple of days or a couple of 
weeks there with advantage. Margate is a town with a 
history. Its foremost historical feature is the Church of 



MARGATE. 91 

St. John, built in 1050. It has seen the rise of Norman, 
Plantagenet and Tudor dynasties and still stands, the 
oldest of England's possessions. In the time of Queen 
Anne, according to the chronicler, to be buried in a 
sheet cost sixpence, and a shilling was the extravagant 
price of a coffin, but the honor of being buried from St. 
John's Church cost two shillings more! Marriage banns 
were to be had at St. John's for three-and-six. 

Modem Margate is one of England's most popular 
watering-places. There are many pleasant walks and 
some fine buildings. One of the pleasure resorts is the 
ocean pier. Here, three times a week, a large band of 
picked musicians perform a good programme giving a 
promenade concert directly over the breakers. 

It is the boast of the Britisher that his government 
is "parental;" it not only assumes to take charge of the 
individual, but it does in many particulars compel him 
to take care of himself. If, for instance, you are caught 
boarding or leaving a moving train you are fined *' forty 
shillings " (ten dollars) — a favorite sum for a fine, by the 
way, is that same forty shillings. 

The pier at Margate would seem to be an exception 
to the rule of safety ; it cannot be called absolutely safe 
at night. The boat landing below is reached by several 
flights of wide stairs, and the lowest flight is open and 
unguarded, not only in daytime but also at night. In ad- 
dition to this the lower part of the pier is not lighted at 
all, and it would be the easiest thing in the world on a 
dark night to walk off by accident into the water. Why 
more accidents and loss of life do not occur is surpris- 
ing. Twopence admits you to the pier, and it is a 
popular democratic resort. 

At night the scene near the pier is a lively one. Street 
restaurateurs, their barrows ablaze with flambeaux, line 
the highway and drive quite a business selling plates of 
oysters, mussels, cockles and snails, which are more or 
less tempting. 



MARGATE, 93 

If you are fond of sea bathing by all means go to 
Margate. There is no high-rolling surf, but if you are a 
swimmer you will be all the better pleased. There are 
no ropes to lay hold of, none are necessary ; you bathe 
in perfect safety and comfort, and, as at all English 
resorts, you bathe from a " machine." 

In America bathing facilities consist of long rows of 
commodious wooden boxes placed on the beach at some 
distance from the surf. You purchase a bathing ticket 
for twenty-five or fifty cents, the price depending on 
whether you prefer a woolen to a cotton costume. You 
receive the suit and the key of your box. Then you 
put your valuables in an envelope sealed by yourself 
and hand them to the custodian, who places them in a 
separate box in an enormous safe, returning you a check 
tied to a rubber band, which latter you pass over your 
head and wear while bathing. Y'ou proceed to your 
*' house," as we call it, disrobe and don your scant suit, 
lock your door and walk out and down to the edge of 
the water, where, as fancy dictates, you loll around on 
the beach, talking to your friends, or you plunge im- 
mediately into the breakers only to come out, dry your- 
self in the sun, cut up capers on the sand, chat or 
smoke, repeating the process ad libitum. Of course men 
and women bathe together. 

Not so in England. There you bathe from ' ' machines, " 
small wooden houses, five feet square by ten feet high, 
mounted on four wheels. They have entrances back and 
front, each approached by a low flight of steps. You 
enter by one door in street costume, and having dis- 
robed and donned your bathing garments, you give the 
signal, a horse is attached to the ''machine " which is 
drawn a short distance into the water. You step down 
and out, disport yourself in the water as long as you 
please and reenter your box, to emerge therefrom once 
more in everyday habihments. No lolling about the 
beach, no unseemly display of person ; all is conduct- 



ft4 Margate. 

ed in a proper, staid and exemplary manner — on tlie 
beach. 

And in sooth, why should you walk around and smoke 
and chat with your friends on this occasion, in a cos- 
tume, or lack of costume, which if worn at other times 
or places would land you in jail for exposure of per- 
son? This with reference to the American custom or 
costume. 

In England it is worse in some respects, for while the 
women dress as they do here, the men bathe in a nude 
state, so to speak. They wear small trunks or loin cloths 
only, and men and women bathe together indiscrimin- 
ately. Notices are posted in prominent places near the 
beach, boldly printed and bearing the English coat of 
arms, to the effect that in the water men and women 
must remain separate, and further that you will be fined 
forty shillings (of course forty shillings) if you are found 
nearer to a female than one hundred yards ; but it is a 
dead letter law, and is entirely disregarded. I am not 
the most prudish man in the world, but I confess to hav- 
ing been shocked. Trunks did not suit me ; I preferred 
and obtained a bathing costume which is to be had upon 
special application. 

The beach is hard and smooth, broad and gently 
sloping. The bluff at Long Branch is not to be men- 
tioned, scarcely, with the bold, beautiful white chalk 
cliffs that rise abruptly and picturesquely from the beach 
at Margate to a height of seventy-five feet. Along this 
bluff are miles of grassy, serpentine walks, gardens 
prettily laid out, dotted with summer houses and 
bounded by hedges and clover fields — a beautiful, na- 
tural landscape, artificially enhanced. 

The favorite bathing place on the beach is managed 
by Charlotte Pettman. It is reached by a "coast 
guard " cutting in the cliff, an inclined passageway 
sloping from the road to the beach under the bridge. It 
is a sort of artificial caiion. Bathers are charged six- 



MARGATE, 95 

pence each, "six baths for two-and-six, twelve for four- 
and-six." 

Mrs. Pettman advertises her baths by a circular which 
contains the following touching verse, no doubt assist- 
ing trade materially. 

"I pitied the dove, for my bosom was tender, 
I pitied the sigh that she gave to the wind ; 
But I ne'er shall forget the superlative splendor 
Of Charlotte's sea baths, the pride of mankind." 

In his early days of struggle the great Charles Dick- 
ens, for a few shillings, penned these lines as a ''puff" 
of Day & Martin's blacking. 

So far as the waves are concerned, the cliff is as solid 
as it appears to be, but it has yielded to the hand of 
man, and at Charlotte Pettman's baths there is a statue 
sculptured in the cliff, entitled *' My first plunge." It is 
the life-size figure of a young and beautiful girl in bath- 
ing costume, just about to take *'a header" from the 
platform. It is by Priestman, an English artist. The 
door is opened to art lovers for twopence each, or as 
much more as the generously disposed may be inclined 
to give, the proceeds being handed over to a local 
hospital. 

One of Margate's architectural features, as seen in 
the accompanying illustration, is its handsome clock- 
tower, standing in a conspicuous position on the Marine 
drive. It was erected in honor of the Queen's Jubilee 
in 1887, and has a musical chime of bells. 

Like Brighton and some other seaside resorts, Mar- 
gate is democratic in the height of summer, but select 
in the autumn. In olden times the season commenced 
in June and continued until October. Margate offers 
every inducement to a prolonged season. While Lon- 
don is miserable under Novemiber fogs and humid 
atmosphere, Margate is brilliant with glorious days 
and bright skies ; fine weather from August until 
Christmas. 



96 MARGA TE. 

Americans, of course, must flock to the largest hotel. 
They like size, and many of them patronize the Clifton- 
ville Hotel, which, to be sure, is a large establishment 
in the most fashionable, and certainly the most attrac- 
tive part of the town, near the grand cliffs, and over- 
looking the sea — a splendid site and a beautiful house 
exteriorly, but not as well kept as an Amerian host 
might care for it. 

The White Hart Hotel, on the principal street, is a 
commercial house, and has a comfortable appearance 
from the outside, but the Nayland Rock Hotel, not far 
from the two railway stations, yet overlooking the sea, 
and from the windows of which you may toss a biscuit 
into the water (provided you have the biscuit), is to my 
knowledge a well-appointed hotel, with bedrooms as 
clean and comfortable and dining-room as cheerful as 
any hotel in the world. The cuisine is of the best. If 
great variety be absent, quality is present. The food is 
choice, and served in a neat, tempting and scrupulously 
clean manner. 

European hotels, as a rule, are kept on the European 
plan ; at the Nayland Rock you have your choice. If 
you choose the American plan, the terms are very low 
for the accommodation afforded. Two dollars and a 
half a day secures you pleasant room, three good meals, 
lights and service. There are no extras. The wines 
are of first quality. 

But I almost forgot an important item. I went to 
Margate for health and rest ; I found both there. After 
one week I returned to London ** like a lion refreshed," 
and I shall always say, as everybody in London says, 
"there's a beautiful air at Margate." 



TWO BRIGHTON HOTELS, 



The company that owns the Grand Hotel and the 
Metropole in London, opened in March, 1890, a magnifi- 
cent house at Brighton, on the English southern sea 
coast. ** Magnificent " is the word. It is built of stone; 
it faces the sea ; it has an acre or two at the back laid 
out in gardens, tennis courts, and pretty walks, after 
the style of the United States Hotel at Saratoga ; there 
is a separate building on the grounds for a ball-room, in 
this respect resembhng the Grand Union Hotel at the 
same American spa ; the elegant drawing-room on the 
ground floor looks on the King's Road and the ocean ; 
the library, which faces the garden, contains a large 
and choice selection of books by leading authors, and in 
the basement there are Turkish and Russian baths fitted 
up with a luxury and perfection of appointment not 
equalled in any other hotel. The proprietors have 
availed themselves of all the latest ideas in the construc- 
tion and furnishing of hotels, and nothing that money 
can supply, or good taste can suggest, has been left un- 
done to make the Metropole at Brighton what it is — 
one of the most beautiful and luxurious hotels in the 
world. It is said to accommodate six or seven hundred 
guests. 

Besides this hotel, and the Grand and Metropole 
hotels in London, the same company owns another 
hotel in London, "The First Avenue," in Holbom ; 
also the Burlington at Eastbourne ; the Royal Pier 
Hotel at Ryde, Isle of Wight; the Metropole at Monte 
Carlo ; and the Metropole at Cannes — all of them luxu- 
rious establishments. 



08 TIVO BRIGHTON HOTELS, 

Brighton attracts visitors the year round ; in fact it is 
a city of no mean size, having a permanent population 
numbering an eighth of a million. It enjoys two sea- 
sons — one for the hoi polloi, which begins in June and 
lasts three months, and another for the fashionable 
world, which begins in September and continues till 
near Christmas. During the second season the prices 
at Brighton are greatly increased. 

I entered one of the leading hotels one day about 
lunch time, and as is my custom before engaging rooms 
or partaking of a meal at an English hotel, I asked : 
"What is the charge for a table d'hote lunch here?" 
*'Two-and-six," replied the porter. As for seeing the 
lessee or manager of an English hotel, you can almost 
as easily secure an audience with the czar of all the 
Russias. 

But to return to my muttons — or to the lunch, which, 
truth to tell, was good in quality and nicely served. 
My daughter heard the following conversation between 
the head waiter and the said porter as we were passing 
in to the ''coffee-room" Quoth the former: — "How 
much did you tell these people for lunch ? " " Two-and- 
six," replied that blue-coated, gold-embroidered official. 
" That's wrong," remarked the head waiter, who almost 
lost his head as well as his temper. " Three shillings is 
the price to strangers," and three shillings each we had 
to pay. 

This reminds me of the old story of the Englishman 
who was heard to remark about a man passing, who 
had a foreign look : " 'Ere'sa stranger, Bill, 'eave arf a 
brick at 'im." 

That they call these apartments in English hotels 
" Coffee Rooms," when they never serve in them a cup 
of coffee after dinner without a separate and extra 
charge, is rather exasperating. 

The porters and officials at some English hotels are 
not, though it appears as if they were, in league with 



TWO BRIGHTON HOTELS. 



99 



the cabmen. If yon ask them about rates just before 
taking a drive they will occasionally mislead you and 
name a higher rate than the usual or legal one. For 
instance, I asked the clerk at another hotel in Brigh- 
ton, what was the fare by the hour for a drive in an 
open cab or victoria holding two persons. '* Four shil- 
lings per hour," quickly responded my misinformant. I 
knew^ better, for this was not my first visit to Brighton, 
but said nothing. To a cabman with a good-looking 
victoria who stood immediately opposite the hotel en- 
trance I popped this question : "What will you charge 
us for an hour's drive along the beach and about the 
town?" " Two-and-six, " briskly replied cabbie and we 
drove about the pretty place for a whole hour for the 
half crown. 




A VISIT TO BLEAK HOUSE 



Bleak House, the scene of the novel of that name, is 
near the village of St. Albans, about twenty miles from 
London, and is described in the early part of the 
story as an * ' old-fashioned house with three peaks in 
the roof in front and a circular sweep leading to the 
porch." That there was more than one Bleak House 
in the mind of Dickens ''there can be no possible 
probable manner of doubt," as Gilbert sings in **The 
Gondoliers," because at the close of the story one of 
the characters in it is made to say, "Both houses are 
your home, my dear, but the older Bleak House claims 
priority." 

But the "Bleak House" which was for many years 
the home of Charles Dickens, and where he wrote 
many of his novels, was so named by the author 
after his famous story. It is located in the old-fash- 
ioned village of Broadstairs, on the North Sea, in the 
county of Kent, the garden of England, and is seventy- 
two miles from London, on the London, Chatham 
and Dover Railway. The population is given in the 
latest census as two thousand two hundred and sixty- 
three. 

The house was formerly called Fort House, from its 
proximity to the British fortifications on the coast. It 
stands directly on the top of the chalk cliffs, seventy- 
five feet above the water, quite alone, and so near to the 
edge that from the portico a stone might be easily 
thrown into the surf — what little surf there is. It com- 




BLE^K HOUSE. 



IQl 



102 A VISIT TO BLEAK HOUSE, 

mands a wide view of the ocean. In the southwest it 
looks toward Ramsgate, a seaside pleasure resort, dis- 
tant five miles ; in the northeast toward Kingsgate. 
The house is appropriately named, for it is indeed bleak 
from Christmas until April, when the cold, biting north- 
east winds, for which these parts are noted, blow with 
all their might. 

It was natural for Dickens to select such a spot for a 
residence. If he was not actuatly fond of the sea, he 
certainly had a great liking for the sea-coast, with 
which were associated the earliest memories of his 
childhood. It will be remembered that he was bom at 
Portsmouth, a fortified seaport town, and the principal 
naval station of Great Britain, about one hundred 
miles southwest of London. Dickens lived at Ports- 
mouth until he arrived at his majority. At Portsmouth 
he studied law, but he found Blackstone and Coke 
rather dry reading, and so went to London where, as 
every body knows, he entered upon his literary career 
by reporting parliamentary debates for the Morning 
Chronicle, 

Bleak House is a plain, substantial, compact, three- 
story structure of burnt brick. It has grounds of one 
and a quarter acres in extent, and the property is what 
is called in England " freehold ; " value, two thousand 
seven hundred pounds sterling. A stone wall five feet 
high, encloses the house on two sides. One side of the 
house is a flat, blank wall, evidently planned so that an 
extension could be easily made, and the lower part of 
the front is protected by plain iron railings. The en- 
trance is by a low flight of flve steps leading up to a 
portico and doorway supported by Doric columns. 
Next the doorway, on the first story, a semi-circular 
bay window projects, and on the second story are 
two deep windows which open upon a pretty orna- 
mental iron balcony, having a curved, sloping roof. 
A ^eat deal of ivy softens the bareness of the archi- 



A VISIT TO BLEAK HOUSE. 103 

lecture. It climbs up the walls and around the bay 
windows. 

Dickens was very partial to the ivy plant, as his 
lyric, **The Ivy Green," testifies. He wrote several 
lyrics, but '* The Ivy Green " which appeared originally 
in *' Pickwick Papers " is the only one that has become 
familiar. It was first published as a song in the United 
States, and when a London publisher wished to repro- 
duce it in England, Dickens refused the privilege ex- 
cept on the condition that the publisher pay ten guineas 
to the composer, Henry Russell. 

Dickens was more thoughtful concerning Henry Rus- 
sell's rights than this English composer is of the rights 
of others. I well remember that my predecessor on the 
Ho7ne Journal, the much beloved poet, George P. Mor- 
ris, had a grudge against Russell, because Russell, in 
England, claimed to be the author of the words, 
** Woodman, Spare that Tree," as well as the com- 
poser of the music; and it is my humble opinion that 
the music in merit is far below Morris's poetry. The 
sentiment is beautiful, the words breathe a true, 
manly spirit and are full of deep feeling, while the 
music is plaintive, weak, childish — namby-pamby ex- 
presses it. 

Russell did better with the English poet Mackay's 
song, " Cheer, Boys, Cheer," making it go with life and 
spirit, and he set appropriate music to our own Epes 
Sargent's song, '' A Life on the Ocean Wave," in which 
you may fancy you almost see the good old sailing ship 
bowling along before the wind. Henry Russell, who, 
by the way, is a father of Clark Russell, the novelist, is 
still living in London — February, 1892. 

As to the melody, *' The Ivy Green," an astute critic 
says : '* It seems to me the composer has failed to catch 
the poet's meaning. Dickens's words are as sombre and 
tender as the vine that deepens the shadows and softens 
the ruggedness of decaying grandeur ; while Russell's 



104 A VISIT TO BLEAK HOUSE. 

music is as free and sturdy as the hardiest oak. '* The 
song opens with this stanza : 

A dainty plant is the ivy green 

That creepeth o'er ruins old, 
Of rich choice food are his meals, I ween. 

In his cell so lone and cold ; 
The wall must be crumbled, the stones decayed. 

To pleasure his dainty whim, 
And the mould'ring dust that years have made, 

Is a merry meal for him. 
Creeping where no life is seen, 

A rare old plant is the ivy green. 

The house is about fifty years old, and contains ten 
rooms. Dickens's study was on the second floor, front. 
It has a southeastern outlook ; he was fond of the rising 
sun. The furniture and appointments of the room, 
which the writer saw in the autumn of 1 89 1 , remain as 
when Dickens left them — table with telescope, book- 
case, plain wooden armchair, etc. — a very simply fur- 
nished study. He did not die at Bleak House, however, 
but at a short distance from it, on June 9, 1870, at Gads' 
Hill, " Higham by Rochester, Kent," as he was in the 
habit of dating from. 

Dickens, at Bleak House, was a tenant of a Mr. Fos- 
bury, but the house was sold after Dickens's death, and 
is at present owned in Broadstairs by '*W. S. Black- 
burn, house and estate agent, undertaker, builder and 
decorator, and upholsterer and mover of furniture," by 
v/hich man-of-many-trades the house was leased for a 
very short term to a Mrs. Whitehead, sister of the vicar 
of St. Peter's of Broadstairs, at an annual rent of six 
hundred dollars. Mr. Blackburn now offers the prop- 
erty for sale. It would make a cool and charming sum- 
mer retreat for some American prince. Or let some 
large-hearted and large-pursed man like George W. 
Childs buy the precious property and present it to tb^ 
village of Broadstairs. 




o 

m 
"^ 

O 

< 



TAKIN' NOTES 

IN EDINBORO' TOWN. 



Singular that more Americans do not " take in " Scot- 
land when they are making the grand tour. Its historic 
interest and its scenic beauty are great. Glasgow is 
reached direct from New York by the fine fleet of An- 
chor boats, numbered among which are the " Fumes- 
sia," the *' Devonia " and the *' City of Rome." Except- 
ing the last named the Scotch boats are slow in these 
days of "racers " and " greyhounds," but they are very 
comfortable vessels, as I know, from experience, and I 
have crossed in seven days by the '* Rome" — crossed, 
that is, from Queenstown to New York. 

If you don't care about bustling, busy Glasgow, with 
its smoke and its dirt, bonnie Edinburgh is distant only 
sixty-five minutes by express trains of the Caledonian 
railway, one of the best built and best equipped roads 
in Great Britain. 

It hasn't the commerce of Glasgow, not being a sea- 
port, but it is the cleanest city I ever visited, and one of 
the most beautiful. Many travellers consider London 
the most interesting city in the world, but to a casual 
observer, the four most attractive cities in Europe are 
Rome, Paris, Brussels and Edinburgh. 

The whole city is built of granite and freestone. You 
don't see a brick excepting in a very few and very tall 
factory chimneys. To some eyes this is monotonous ; 
to mine it is pleasing. It looks, and it is, substantial, 
solid and strong. 

Don't come at any time, not even in August, without 
winter clothing. The winds are keen and cutting. 

lOo 



106 TAKIN' NOTES' 

Umbrella and ''waterproof" are indispensable; over- 
shoes, also, if it is your habit to wear them, for "the 
rain it raineth every day " — so to speak. This is not 
the remark of a hasty tourist. I have been making 
trips to Scotland for the past twenty years and I have 
stayed there for weeks at a time. 

It is cool here and rain is frequent, but everything in 
this life has its compensation. This is the twentieth day 
of August, 1 89 1, and we have strawberries for breakfast 
every morning and fresh green peas are in season. 
Large, luscious strawberries and raspberries sixpence a 
quart. Edinburgh, remember, is four hundred miles 
north of London. The twilight is long and late, I was 
reading a badly-printed Scotch newspaper this evening 
by daylight at half -past eight. 

Labor is cheap here, and yet boys do men's work, such 
as driving carts and sweeping the streets. 

The drives in and about Edinburgh are very attract- 
ive, and there are no better roads anywhere. 

There are tram-cars in the city : fare, inside, two 
pence ; *'on top," one penny. There are also two lines 
of cable cars. 

In a ** distillery agent's " window, in Princes street, I 
saw flasks of wine marked **two shillings." I stepped 
in and bought a flask. ''One penny more," remarked 
the salesman. " For what," said I, inquiringly. "For 
the cork." When I reached my hotel I applied a cork- 
screw ; it wouldn't budge. The penny "cork" was a 
glass stopper with a "worm," to screw on and off. 

It strikes a stranger as rather odd to see men and boys 
carry so much on their heads and to see them balance 
their loads with such nicety. Instead of using small, 
light push carts, or delivering goods in baskets hanging 
on the arm, as is done in New York, Edinburgh boys 
use a tray or flat board with an edge turned up, in which 
they carry vegetables, meat, poultry, fruit, etc. This 
tray is placed on the head and is scarcely ever touched 



TAKIN' NOTES, 107 

by the hand except to load or unload. The head in 
Edinburgh is made to do good physical service. 

The house still stands, and is Hkely to stand for cen- 
turies,, in which Walter Scott lived for years, and in 
which he wrote several of his novels. It is of granite, 
with a rounded (sw^elled) front, three stories high and 
about thirty feet wide. You must look it up when you 
go to Edinburgh — No. 39 Castle street. It is now used for 
office purposes, and is tenanted by doctors, lawyers, civil 
engineers and the like. In the transom window, over the 
door, you will see a small marble bust of the novelist. 

Princes street, the principal street, is not very long, 
only about one mile, but as far as it goes it is not easily 
surpassed in any city. On one side are the principal 
hotels and business blocks, all of granite or freestone ; 
on the other side are the handsome Princes Gardens 
with monuments and the magnificent Art Institute in 
the foreground, and in the background such buildings as 
the Castle, several churches and the Bank of Scotland. 

The gardens, with their terraces, gravel walks, foun- 
tains, rustic seats, lawns and flower-beds are uncom- 
monly attractive. It would seem that nowhere are the 
flowers brought to a higher state of cultivation than in 
the Princes Gardens. 

Blackwood has a large but very quiet-looking shop in 
George street, not so crowded a thoroughfare as Princes 
street, but in which a very select business is transacted. 

Thomas Nelson & Sons have the largest book publish- 
ing establishment in Scotland — I was going to say in 
Great Britain. Their business buildings cover a vast 
space of ground, and Mr. Nelson's residence, not far 
from Holyrood Palace and Arthur's Seat, is one of the 
most attractive private citizens' residences in this part 
of the country. It was only two or three years ago, 
so a coachman informed me, that Mr. Nelson gave ten 
thousand pounds to restore the front of the castle. 

David Douglas, whose retail house is at No. 9 Castle 



108 TAKIN' NOTES, 

street, makes a specialty of publishing and republishing 
works of American authors, and finds his profit in it. 
You may pick up on his counters almost anything of Long- 
fellow, Holmes, Lowell, Howells, Winter and Aldrich. 
Winter's ** Shakespeare in England" and his latest 
work, "Gray Days and Gold," were both published by 
Douglas, duplicate plates being sent over to Macmillan 
of New York. 

Talk of books being expensive in England : these 
very books by Winter which Macmillan sells in New 
York at seventy-five cents each, Douglas publishes at 
two shillings ; in paper covers for one shilling — twent}'- 
five cents. 

Douglas's people tell me that Winter's books find a 
ready sale in Great Britain. The critics and the reading 
public are delighted with his sketches of English and 
Scotch scenery, and especially with his scholarly and 
beautiful descriptions of Stratford-on-Avon and Shake- 
speare's country. They think that no author has writ- 
ten with more reverence and feeling about Shakespeare. 
They find * * his language poetical and his style artistic, 
with a Meissonier-like finish." 

Fruits and Flowers. — In Scotland herrings are al- 
ways sold by pairs, haddocks by threes. In England 
and Scotland fruit is sold by the pound, so are vegeta- 
bles : and this fair and excellent method proves satis- 
factory to buyer and seller. Flowers and fruit are sold 
in the same shop : the signs read, " fruiterer and florist. " 
Flowers are very high in price. They use growing 
flowers and living plants in pots very freely to decorate 
the dinner table, but this idea, which is pretty enough 
in its way, is carried too far in hotel dining-rooms. So 
many tall plants make the table look dark and heavy, 
and the broad leaves prevent you from seeing your 
neighbor or chatting wnth a friend on the other side of 
the table, for in some hotels they still persist in using 
the old-fashioned long tables which are neither home- 



TAKIN' NOTES. 109 

like nor comfortable. Choice fruit, being either im- 
ported from the warmer climates or grown under glass, 
is very expensive in the British kingdom. You pay 
sixpence or a shilling for a peach or nectarine ; two 
shillings each for choice varieties. The largest and 
handsomest peach ever grown, possibly, or certainly 
ever shown, was exhibited last summer in a shop win- 
dow in Buchanan street, Glasgow. It weighed eighteen 
ounces, price three-and-sixpence. 

The capital of Scotland is always spelled Edinburgh, 
but is always pronounced Edinboro'. 

In the stamp department of the post-office in Edin- 
burgh there is a shallow indentation about four inches 
square in the table, in which a piece of felt is kept con- 
stantly damp. Instead of putting the stamp on your 
tongue you pass it over the piece of felt before placing it 
on the envelope. Small matter, but very convenient, and 
shows thoughtfulness on the part of the authorities. 

Street Religion. — There's a great deal of poverty 
and drunkenness in Edinburgh, but there is also a great 
deal of religion. All the churches are well attended on 
Sunday, and there are preaching, praying and singing 
in the' public streets. Church choirs, men and women, 
stand and sing in the public highways. In the lower 
quarters of the city they attract people with a harmon- 
ium, which is wheeled about from place to place. Passers- 
by stop, join in the singing, and in fine weather uncover 
their heads. The singers are not paid for their services. 

The Dogs, — Here's a hint for the society which Mr. 
Henry Bergh founded : — On the sidewalk in front of 
large shops and public buildings in Glasgow and Edin- 
burgh they place small earthenware or iron vessels filled 
with water for passing dogs. The vessel is simply and 
legibly marked '* Dog." Probably the dogs cannot read, 
but they seem to know or to ''nose out" the shops 
where such a humane practice is carried out. But a cer- 
tain Scotch editor contends that Scotch dogs can read. 



no TAKIN' NOTES. 

India Rubber Pavement.— The attention of every 
stranger who walks in Princes street, Edinburgh, is 
immediately arrested as soon as he gets in front of a 
certain shop, nearly opposite the castle, where rubber 
goods are sold. His attention is arrested because he 
finds himself on a yielding pavement. It is a rubber 
"sidewalk" (as we say in New York), and was laid 
there by the enterprising shopkeeper. It is very pleas- 
ant and comfortable to walk on, and so durable that the 
authorities have talked about putting down rubber 
pavements on both sides of Princes street. 

Glasgow University. — There is not much for the 
tourist to see in Glasgow except the university, the 
cathedral, founded in the fourteenth century, and the 
municipal buildings. But the first-named is worth walk- 
ing many miles to visit, if one is interested in such 
things. I spent several hours in the university with 
pleasure and profit. This university, Glasgow people 
claim, is the finest in Scotland. It accommodates twenty- 
three hundred students, who pay on an average of forty 
pounds a year. It is generously endowed. The build- 
ings are of granite and present a noble appearance, 
standing on very high ground in their own large park, 
which is beautifully laid out with terraces, flower beds 
and gravel walks. There are some grand old trees in 
the park, and a pretty winding lake, over which are 
thrown many picturesque bridges. Though it is a seat 
of learning, you will not expect the services of a college 
professor as a cicerone, but you might naturally expect 
to hear fair English spoken. The liveried servant who 
guides you will tell you, with strong aspirations, of the 
" helementary " classes and the " school of harts. " In 
•decribing the modus operandi of taking the gold medal, 
the graduate sitting in a very high-backed chair, which 
is several hundred years old, you will be told "it's a 
very 'igh honor." 

In the " Edinburgh Cafe," a fairish kind of restaurant 



TAkIN' NOTES. Ill 

in Princes street, opposite the Scott monument, a penny 
is charged for the privilege of washing your hands, and 
a penny for the use of a napkin. The majority of this 
cafe's customers, however, if the truth must be told, 
make a moiuhoir serve for a serviette. 

Slippers Supplied Free. — If you go to Philp's Cock- 
bum (pronounced Coburn) Hotel in Edinburgh, it mat- 
ters not if you have forgotten to pack your slippers in 
your portmanteau, for the porter will provide you with 
a pair. One hundred pairs of red morocco slippers are 
kept at this hotel for the use of guests. A foot of any 
size can be accommodated, and there is no charge. 

Smoking is not allowed in bedrooms of Scotch hotels, 
and a notice to that effect is posted in each room. 
** Smoking rooms" are provided, and only such apart- 
ment may be used for this purpose. They are both 
smoky and dingy. 

An Edinburgh Dollar Dinner. — I have dined at the 
leading hotels in New York, at "The States, "in Saratoga, 
the Breslin,^ at Lake Hopatcong, and my experience in- 
cludes the leading hotels in the principal European cap- 
itals, and the leading hotels in the Southern and far 
Western States, as far as California, yet I can say that 
the table d'hote dinner served at Philp's Cockburn Hotel, 
Edinburgh (on Sunday, August 24, 1890), will rank with 
the fare at any of these houses, and it excels the table 
d'hote at some high-priced hotels in London and Paris. 
And the price charged for this dinner was very moder- 
ate — only four shillings, about one dollar. The dinner 
included grouse, peaches, strawberries and nectarines, 
and from the hare soup down to the dessert, everything 
was well cooked and nicely served. The charge is re- 
markably moderate when it is understood that this is a 
* * temperance house, " and when you know that the choice 
fruit is grown under glass at high cost. The dinner would 
have been perfect with cafe noir at the close, but this is 
not served in British hotels without additional charge. 



THE BURNS MONUMENT. 



If Baltimore is the montimental city of the United 
States, Edinburgh may surely be called the monument- 
al city of the United Kingdom. The majority of its 
public buildings, of freestone or granite, are noble 
structures standing on hills in the heart of the city, and 
for their situation alone would command admiration — 
the old Castle, Nelson moument, the city prison, the 
National Gallery, the Bank of Scotland, etc. No bank 
in the world occupies a more commanding site than the 
one just named. Owing to the peculiar natural forma- 
tion of the land upon which the city is built, an observer 
may stand in one spot in Edinburgh (say the Waverly 
Gardens) and see a greater number of splendid build- 
ings at a glance than may be seen simultaneously from 
the level in any other city. 

Not among the largest by any means but among the 
most interesting must be reckoned the Burns monument, 
which occupies a high position near its still higher 
neighbor, the Nelson monument, on Calton Hill. The 
Bums monument was built in 1830 for the purpose of 
containing a marble statue of the poet by Flaxman. 
The building, of freestone, is a circular temple on a 
quadrangular basement surrounded by a peristyle of 
twelve Corinthian columns which support an entabla- 
ture and cornice. Over this is a cupola, a restoration of 
the monument of Lysicrates at Athens. The whole is 
surmounted by a tripod supported by winged griffins. 
The extreme height of the structure is fifty feet, the 
twelve outside columns are fourteen feet high and the 
twelve inside columns are ten feet high. The latter 

112 



THE BURNS MONUMENT, 113 

are of freestone painted to represent variegated marble. 
The cost of the monument and statue was three thous- 
and three hundred pounds sterling (about sixteen thous- 
and five hundred dollars) — not a large sum considering 
the result attained. 

Besides the statue of the poet, the monument holds a 
number of relics — letters written by or to Burns, the 
worm-eaten three legged stool upon which the poet sat 
in 1786 and 'Z'j while correcting the proofs of his poems, 
and other things of interest. One of the most interest- 
ing letters is that subjoined. As is well known, the poet 
spelled his name Bumess (his family name) until the 
publication of his poems in 1786. The letter is thus ad- 
dressed : 

To 

Mr. James Bumess, 

Writer, Montrose. 

My Dear Cousin : 

When you offered me money assistance, little did I 
think I should want it so soon. A rascal of a haber- 
dasher to whom I owe a considerable bill, taking into 
his head that I am dying, has commenced a process 
against me and will infallibly put my emaciated body 
into jail. Will you be so good as to accommodate me, 
and that by return of post, with ten pounds. O, James, 
did you know the pride of my heart you would feel doubly 
for me. Alas, I am not used to beg. The worse of it is 
my health was coming about finely, you know, and my 
physician assures me that melancholy and low spirits 
are half my disease. Guess then my horrors since this 
business began. If I had it settled I would be, I think, 
quite well in a manner. O, do not disappoint me. 

Among other relics preserved in frames and hung on 
the walls is the printed newspaper report of Burns's 
death. This occurred at Dumfries, July 21, 1796, and 
the report appeared in the London Herald of July 27 — 
nearly one week after. The London Herald oi that day 
was a very small sheet, about fifteen inches long and 



114 THE BURNS MONUMENT, 

only four columns wide, price fourpence halfpenny a 
copy. The obituary notice is unique and is worth re- 
producing to-day : 

DB^ATH OF" NIR. ROBERT BURNS, 

THE CELEBRATED POET. 

On the twenty-first instant died at Dumfries, after a 
lingering illness, the celebrated Robert Bums. His 
poetical compositions, distinguished equally by the force 
of native humor, by the warmth and tenderness of pas- 
sion, and by the glowing touches of a descriptive pencil, 
will remain a lasting monument of the vigor and versa- 
tility of a mind, guided only by the light of nature and 
the inspirations of genius. The public, to whose 
amusement he so largely contributed, will learn with 
regret that the last months of his short life were spent 
in sickness and indigence, and his widow and five infant 
children, and in the hourly expectation of a sixth, is 
now left without any resource but what she may hope 
from the regard due to the memory of her husband. 

Apropos to the subject come these remarks in the 
New York Sun : 

It is better to write a little book that is full of heart 
and brains than a big book that lacks both. Probably 
there is no writer but Robert Burns who has made such 
broad and enduring renown as his through a book as 
small as his. This thought arose while taking a glimpse 
of a new statue of the bard that is to be erected in a 
city out West. There is a statue of Burns in our Cen- 
tral Park ; there is another up at Albany ; there is at 
least one in Australia, and there are several statues of 
him in the British Isles. All that he wrote appears as a 
tiny volume in the latest edition of his works ; much of 
it is in a dialect that is hard to be understood by Eng- 
lish-speaking people, and he died in obscurity about one 
hundred years ago. Yet there are probably as many 
public statues of him in various parts of the globe as 
there are of Shakespeare, who wrote voluminously. 

Monuments, however, are not Edinburgh's only at- 
tractions, but do not count on seeing the sights there on 
Sunday. The day is closely and strictly observed. 



THE BURNS MONUMENT. 



115 



London is surely quiet enough on a Sunday, but it is 
gayety itself when compared with the capital of Scot- 
land. Not a shop is open ; even the drug shops are 
open only during two hours. Everything is shut as 
tight as a drum in Edinburgh except the churches, and 
to these you must either walk or hire a carriage, for not 
the wheel of an omnibus or car turns on Sunday. 




THE BURNS MONUMENT. 




RIGHT REVEREND THE MODERATOR, 

JAMES MACGREGOR, D. D. 



In September, 1890, I had the privilege of Hstening to 
England's foremost preacher, Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, in 
his Tabernacle at Newington Butts, in London ; and 
one year later, on Sunday, September 16, 1891, happen- 
ing to be in Edinburgh, I made it a point to hear the 
Rev. James Macgregor, the leading light of the Scotch 
Presbyterian Church. 

Americans mostly flock to St. Giles's in Canongate, 
on account of its age and historical associations. They 
attend divine service there early in the morning with 
the soldiers from the old castle. But I wanted to hear a 
great preacher, so I repaired to Synod Hall, which the 
members of St. Cuthbert's parish were using as a tem^ 
porary place of worship. 



RIGHT RE VEREND THE MOD ERA TOR. 117 

The extensive alterations, internally and externally, 
which were then making in St. Cnthbert's Church, will 
render it, in some respects, worthy of the site, and of 
its long and honorable history. The present structure 
dates from the year 1775. Only the tower and spire of 
the old church will be retained, and the new edifice, 
which will not be finished until the autumn of 1892, will 
accommodate a much larger number of people than the 
former building did. 

It is a notable fact that on the spot where the building 
stands — under the Castle Rock of Edinburgh — Christian 
worship has been continuously maintained for more 
than a thousand years. It is, indeed, one of the very 
oldest shrines in Scotland, hallowed by the prayers of 
the faithful, which have arisen from it for century upon 
century. 

Originally a mere Culdee cell, dedicated to the mem- 
ory of Cuthbert, the monk of Lindisfarne, it has passed 
through a variety of forms. Changing with the revolu- 
tions of Scottish history, it has been Roman Catholic, 
Presbyterian, Episcopalian, and finally Presbyterian. 

The whole aspect of the place where it rose has 
changed. The Nor' Loch, which stretched away from 
it eastward under the Castle Rock, has disappeared ; 
the sweep of undulating country has been transformed 
into wide streets ; a great city has arisen around it ; and 
it still remains what it has been for ages, a centre of 
Christian influence to a wide community. 

It is interesting as a piece of religious history to note 
that within little more than a stone's throw of the site 
of the present structure is the spot where the first Gen- 
eral Assembly was held on the 20th of December, 1 560. 
It consisted of forty-two members, of whom only six 
were ministers. The first name on the roll is that of 
"John Knox." It was a fully equipped Ecclesiastical 
Convention, and at once proceeded to important busi- 
ness. There is no parallel instance of a court with such 



118 RIGHT REVEREND THE MOD ERA TOR, 

authority springing so suddenly into being. That au- 
thority was almost sovereign. It was based on the sanc- 
tion and support of the popular will. With a power to 
which the Scottish Parliament never attained, it was the 
representative assembly of the Scottish people, embrac- 
ing within it from the very beginning the pith of the 
nation's manhood. The General Assembly was simply 
the Scotch people convened, through their natural 
representatives, to settle their own religious affairs. 
And they did it effectually. Never was a change so 
radical and so beneficial effected in as brief a space 
of time as that accomplished by the Scottish Reform- 
ation. 

So much for the past. Synod Hall, which, as I have 
said, was temporarily occupied by the congregation of 
St. Cuthbert's, is a large freestone building occupying a 
prominent site in Castle Terrace opposite the back of 
the Castle. It accommodates about twenty-five hundred 
people. A bold placard in the vestibule informed the 
hundreds of strangers in and about the vestibule that 
they would be admitted into the body of the church a 
few minutes before the services commenced. The 
"strangers" waited with all the patience they could 
command, and when the sign was made by one of the 
deacons, they flocked in, a large space at the back of 
the house being set apart for them. Soon every seat 
was occupied and people were requested to please sit 
closer together. Then, when there was not an inch of 
room to spare on the benches, chairs were placed in 
the aisles. 

Dr. James Macgregor, the present minister, was ap- 
pointed Moderator of the General Assembly for the cur- 
rent year in May, 1891. He has been connected with St. 
Cuthbert's for fourteen years, having succeeded Dr. 
Barclay, now in Montreal. St. Cuthbert's, or, as it is 
also called, the ** West End Church," is not given to 
making changes oftener than is necessary. Dr. Barclay 



RIGHT REVEREND THE MOD ERA TOR, 119 

is said to be the only man who ever left St. Cuthbert's ; 
his predecessors all died at their posts. 

In Synod Hall there is no organ ; the music was sup- 
plied by the congregation and a choir. St. Cuthbert's 
usually rejoices in a large choir, but on the occasion of 
my visit many of its members were *'away on their 
holidays, "as they call their vacation in Great Britain. 
The choir on that Sunday numbered fifteen — three men 
and twelve of the gentler sex. 

Mr. Edie, a promising and rather brilliant man under 
thirty, who has a clear voice and a Scotch accent is as- 
sistant to Dr. Macgregor. The first selection of song 
which he gave oat was the 129th Psalm : 

Lord of the worlds above 

How pleasant and how fair 
The dwellings of Thy love, 

The earthly temples are. 

Then Mr. Edie read the 62d Chapter of Isaiah. The 
next selection for the congregation was the io2d Psalm, 
6th Verse : ''And God in His glory shall appear ;" and 
then the 356th Hymn : "Te Deum Laudamus." 

Mr. Edie concluded his part of the services with a 
fervent and beautiful prayer in which, after the Queen, 
Prince of Wales, the princess, the judges and magis- 
trates of great Britain were enumerated, special men- 
tion was made of the President and people of the United 
States ; of ' ' our wandering brethren, the children of 
Israel ; of our Catholic brethren ; bless all honorable 
business men ; bless our friends and also those who have 
wronged us." 

Dr. Macgregor, who then rose from a chair, took his 
text from the 4th Chapter, ist Verse, of ''Hosea:" 
" Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel," 

Then followed a brilliant discourse on the history of 
the Jewish race, in which, incidentally, much informa- 
tion was conveyed, the main ideas being : first, that the 



120 RIGHT REVEREND THE MOD ERA TOR. 

government of Great Britain should use its influence in 
behalf of the Russian refugees; second that the Christian 
people owe much to the Jews and should therefore be 
most charitable toward them. 

The minister paid a high tribute to the chosen people 
and their characteristics. He said that the countries 
which abused them most, Spain and Portugal, had been 
least prosperous, and it would be strange, indeed, if 
Russia suffered not for its inhuman persecution of them ; 
that, in fact, it was suffering. 

Notwithstanding that they had been downtrodden for 
centuries, the Jews were vastly stronger in numbers to- 
day than ever before in the history of the world, num- 
bering at the present time twelve millions. 

The speaker showed that the decline of Jerusalem was 
owing to the comparatively small number of Jews there 
in later years, and he strongly advocated their return. 

To quote the doctor almost verbatim : '* I may be 
criticised for criticising Russia. Some may say : ' Let 
each country look after its own affairs, and it will have 
enough to do. It is none of England's business what 
Russia does,' but I say it is the business of every civil- 
ized country, of every civilized man ; it is your business 
and my business ; it affects each and every one of us ; 
it hurts you and me, and it is to be hoped that Great 
Britain will lift up its voice and use its influence in be- 
half of these much injured refugees." 

If this discourse had been especially prepared to de- 
liver before a strictly and exclusively Jewish assem- 
blage, it could not have been more complimentary to 
their people. One of its "points" was thus worded : 
"There must be something wrong with that man's 
head — with that man's heart who despises the Jews. " 

Dr. Macgr.egor has the title of one of Her Majesty's 
chaplains ; he is a member of the Hon. Royal Scottish 
Academy, and a member of the Royal Society of Edin- 
burgh, but a self-made man withal. He is not ashamed 



Right re verend the mod era tor. 121 

to acknowledge that his parents were poor and modest. 
He may have lacked early advantages, but he certainly 
has made the best of his later opportunies. He is a man 
of fine intellect ; a ripe scholar, with broad and liberal 
views. His language is choice, and yet the fine phrases 
and well selected w^ords seem to follow each other wnth 
great ease. His diction is neither stilted nor is it too 
simple but that of an intellectual man who is address- 
ing intelligent people. 

His voice, notwithstanding a certain and unmistaka- 
ble nasal quality, is penetrating — and his elocutionary 
powers are great. I w^as on the last bench, with my 
back against the wall, and I heard almost every word. 
I could not follow the speaker quickly on account of his 
strong Scottish accent — ''murdering" became ''mur/'- 
derHng," with a most decided roll of the r, and " Turks " 
came to me in two syllables, something like " Turreks," 
while " earth " was changed to '* airth," with the r in 
the middle by no means slighted. 

The speaker's facial expressions were a study, and 
his gesticulations at times strikingly dramatic. He ap- 
pealed in tender and pathetic tones to the hearts of his 
hearers, with hands uplifted as if in supplication, and 
then again he would raise his head and fold his arms 
across his chest in a Napoleonic, defiant attitude when 
combating the arguments of an imaginary adversary. 

In fact, he does not seem to be addressing a large au- 
dience, but talking to and debating with but one per- 
son, and each person in the congregation might imagine 
that he was that one. He takes both sides in the de- 
bate, and makes both effective, but he carries the day 
for his own because he is on the side of right. 

Dr. Macgregor closed the service with Hymn 117 : 

Arm of the Lord, awake, awake ! 
Put on Thy strength, the nations shake ; 
And let the world, adoring see 
Triumphs of mercy \vrought by Thee. 



122 RIGHT REVEREND THE MOD ERA TOR, 

When the moderator is in the pulpit you do not notice 
that he is below the medium height ; only when he steps 
down, and when you stand by his side, do you observe 
that he is small of stature — not much over five feet. 
His eye has a most kindly expression, his voice is pleas- 
ing in conversation, and his manner gracious and 
gentle. The accompanying portrait is reproduced from 
a photograph made by John Moffatt, 125 Princes street, 
Edinburgh. 

On the day I had the good fortune to be present, 
there were in the congregation many prominent mem- 
bers of the Archaeological Society of Scotland, who 
were on a temporary visit to Edinburgh, including the 
Bishop of Carlisle and the Earl of Percy, heir to the 
dukedom of Northumberland. 

After the service I had the honor of being presented 
to Dr. Macgregor by a member of this society, in '*The 
Moderator's Room," so inscribed on the door. Upon 
hearing that I was ** from the States," he immediately 
expressed his great admiration for the country and its 
form of government. He seemed to be well-informed 
regarding our people and the country, and said that 
one of his cherished hopes was to make us a visit. 




CROSSING THE CHANNEL 



There are many ways of ** crossing" between the 
Continent and the Enghsh coast, or vice versa. The 
best steamers between England and Holland are those 
which go from Rotterdam to Harwich. Harwich (An- 
glice, Harridge) is about a two hours' run up to London. 
I have tried the different ways of crossing from the 
French coast to England — via Newhaven and Dieppe, 
Folkstone and Boulogne, and Calais and Dover. The 
last route is by far the best. It would be preferred 
over all others, if for only one reason, because it is the 
shortest, the English Channel being "disagreeable" at 
least one half the year. The Calais and Dover boats 
are advertised to make the trip between the two points 
*'in seventy minutes," and they do actually make it in 
one hour and a. quarter. The other routes are much 
longer. No small craft that ply on the English waters 
are as beautiful in their appointments as our Hudson 
river boats, or those for instance of the Fall River line, 
but they are staunch and swift, and they are manned by 
as brave a set of seamen as ever trod a deck. The 
English boats are proof against wind and wave, the 
only danger being from fire or fog, but as they are 
officered by skillful and experienced navigators, and 
are very carefully handled, the danger is reduced to a 
minimum. 

123 



PARIS HOTELS. 



Paris is not in the least behind other cities in the 
number of its hotels nor in the variety of accommoda- 
tions offered. Your choice must depend first upon the 
length of your purse ; second, upon the length of your 
stay ; third, the purpose of your visit. The number in 
the party and their individual tastes and requirements 
must also be taken into account. 

I have not passed near so much time in Paris as in 
London. The most I can do is to suggest a few of the 
choicest hotels Sin&pensio?is with which I am acquainted, 
giving their rates and distinctive features. 

For information as to Where to Dine in Paris I must 
refer the reader to a chapter further on, entitled "The 
Restaurants of Paris," by that facile magazinist and 
connoisseur in many arts, Mr. Theodore Child. It first 
appeared in a book entitled ** Living Paris," which was 
published in London three years ago by Ward & Dow- 
ney, and is the most complete and comprehensive Guide 
to Paris I have ever seen. 



THE GRAND HOTEL. 



The Grand Hotel is one of the largest and most ex- 
pensive. It is grand in size ; grand in appointments. It 
is not a cheap house in any sense of that term, and pos- 
sibly for that reason is largely patronized by Americans. 
The building occupies a square block facing that mag- 
nificent street, I'Avenue de V Opera, diagonally across 

124 



PARIS HOTELS. 125 

from the Grand Opera House. It encloses a large court- 
yard with fountains and parterres. The caves of the 
Grand are ranked as one of the sights of Paris ; they are 
stocked with the choicest of wines. Rooms from six 
francs per day : table d'hote dinner, seven francs. 



HOTEL CONTINENTAL. 



The Continental, on the corner of the rue de Rivoli 
and rue Castiglione, is opposite the gardens of the 
Tuileries. Near by are Hotel des Invalides, the Madel- 
eine, the Eiffel Tower and other interesting buildings. 
It is large and elegant — grander than the Grand. The 
grounds, with the structure and furnishing are said to 
have cost a few millions of francs, and it may be readily 
believed. Some of the rooms are palatial in size, furni- 
ture and decorations. 

The rates at the Continental are a little lower than at 
the Grand. They range all the way from five francs to 
thirty-five francs per day for room ; lights and attend- 
ance extra. Breakfast of coffee, chocolate or tea with 
rolls, from one to two francs ; breakfast proper, or de- 
jeuner a la foiirchette, five francs, wine and coffee in- 
cluded. Table d'hote dinner, seven francs. At all 
Paris hotels wine is included in the charge for dinner, 
but at the Continental on Sundays, champagne as well 
as vin ordinaire is served free, but not, as in the case of 
the latter, in unlimited quantity. 



HOTEL MEURICE. 



Smaller than these two hotels and for that reason 
thought by some to be more select is the Hotel Meurice, 
in rue de Rivoli. It is near rue Castiglione and oppo- 



12(5 PARIS HOTELS^ 

site the Tuileries gardens, altogether a beautiful loca- 
tion. Issuing from the handsome courtyard and turning 
to the left, a few minutes walk brings you to the Palais 
Royal and the Louvre galleries ; or turning to the right a 
few steps bring you past the hotel Continental, to Place 
de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees. It may seem 
strange to those who have not liyed in continental 
hotels, to note that the hotel Meurice is scrupulously 
clean. You observe this in its beautiful courtyard, in 
its handsome dining-room and in the neatly kept bed- 
rooms. 

The hotel is patronized by leading New York families 
and by the best English society, and it ranks as does 
the Brunswick or the Victoria in New York. The cuisine 
of the house is famous and its cellars contain rare wines. 
Hotel Meurice was established in 1815 and its present 
proprietor has kept it for more than thirty years. If 
your stay in Paris is to cover a week or more, you — 
and especially the ladies of your party — will find this 
hotel a thoroughly agreeably place of sojourn ; Bae- 
deker counsels avoiding the largest hotels if you are 
accompanied by ladies. Hotel Meurice has electric 
light, and new plumbing was put in a few years ago. 
It accommodates two hundred guests. Single rooms 
from five francs per day ; apartments from fifteen to 
one hundred francs. Table d'hote dinner, at six P.M., 
six francs. Proprietor, H. Scheurich ; address, 228 rue 
de Rivoli. 



HOTEL CHATHAM. 



Hotel Chatham is justly famed as one of the most ele- 
gantly appointed of Paris hotels. I have known it for 
twenty years, and for twenty-five years it has been the 



PARIS HOTELS. 127 

temporary home of travellers of all nations, — those \vho 
demand the best hotel accommodations. Hotel Chat- 
ham occupies a central location, near the Opera, me de 
la Paix, the theatres, and the best shopping streets. 
Once inside the house, however, and an air of tranquil- 
ity reigns that is in marked contrast to the busy life of 
the city, in the midst of which the hotel is situated. 
The first feature of the Hotel Chatham that attracts at- 
tention is the large, light, and spacious courtyard, fifty 
by one hundred feet. It makes an impression that 
gains in favor when you see the apartments. The 
grand salon, the reading-room and cafe look out upon 
this courtyard, which is embellished with plants and 
flowers. 

The sleeping apartments are beautifully furnished, 
have plenty of light and good ventilation. There are 
elegant suites, also choice single and double rooms. 
The decorations are in good taste. In the best apart- 
ments the walls are not hung with paper, but are cov- 
ered with stuffs — a mixture of worsted and soft silks. 
Hot and cold water on every floor. Two features especi- 
ally commend themselves to those who are acquainted 
with foreign hotels ; there are two Otis elevators, and 
the house is lighted throughout by electricity — shed- 
ding a light in the rooms, not of one hoicgie, but of 
twenty. The cuisine represents the perfection of the 
culinary art, and the wine-cellars are celebrated for 
their famous vintages. 

The Hotel Chatham is the home of the best people 
and many Americans annually seek its hospitality. The 
Harpers, for instance, members of the great publishing 
house, are among its regular guests. The present pro- 
prietor is M. H. Holzschuch, son of the late owner, 
under whom the house acquired its wide fame. Hotel 
Chatham is at 17 and 19 rue Daunou, between rue de 
la Paix and Boulevard des Capucines. 



138 PARIS HOTELS, 

HOTEL BINDA. 



Everybody in Paris knows the Hotel Binda, and it is 
known by a great many people who have never been in 
Paris. With New Yorkers the house is a favorite be- 
cause it is kept by Mr. Charles Binda who for years was 
manager of Delmonico's, and this settles at once and 
satisfactorily the important question of cuisine. The 
house was opened in 1878. It is solidly built of stone, 
five stories high, and is an imposing structure. It stands 
in rue de I'Echelle, on a corner of the avenue de I'Opera, 
the principal business street of Paris, and probably the 
handsomest shopping street in the world. It is most con- 
veniently located for the principal places of interest — 
the Grand Opera, Palais Royal, the Louvre galleries, 
etc. One minute's walk brings you to the rue de Rivoli, 
that wide open street, one side of which is flanked by 
the open and beautiful gardens of the Tuileries. 

If in the heat of a summer day in walking to Place 
Vendome or to the Champs Elysees, you wish to avoid 
sunny rue de Rivoli, shade is at your very door in the 
narrow but picturesque rue St. Honore, which, with its 
little shops, its hotels, old churches, etc., is a feature 
of outdoor life in Paris. 

The Grand Opera is at the other end of the Avenue 
de rOpera, a short walk. But omnibuses pass the door, 
by which you can reach any part of Paris at the expense 
of a few sous. And, for that matter, it is only a thirty- 
cent cab fare to the Grand Opera, to the offices of the 
American Minister, Whitelaw Reid, in Avenue Hoche, or 
to the Anglo-American Bank on the corner of Chaussee 
d' Antin and rue Meyerbeer. Cocker will go fast enough 
if by the course and slow enough (too slow) if by the 
hour. 

Instead of a courtyard such as many hotels in Paris 
have, and which in some cases are useless, the space on 



PARIS HOTELS, 129 

the ground floor is used by the Binda for a grand, glass- 
enclosed reception and reading-room, beautifully lighted 
by day and by night. There is also a grand drawing- 
room and a smoking-room, which unlike the dingy 
rooms turned over to the use of men in some English 
hotels is, in the Binda, a very bright and attractive 
apartment. 

All the apartments are comfortably and tastefully 
furnished, but some of the rooms are furnished in pala- 
tial style. There are baths on every floor and some 
rooms have running water. Of course there are electric 
lights and an ascenseur, Anglice "lift." But for all its 
grandeur, one may live at the Binda at moderate cost. 

If you know about how wide you wish to open your 
purse in selecting apartments you can tell as precisely 
as you could in an American hotel how much your bill 
will amount to for a stay of five days or five weeks. Single 
rooms may be had from seven to twelve francs per day ; 
double rooms from fourteen to thirty francs. Special 
rates, lower than these, are made to guests remaining a 
length of time. Here is the tariff for the dining-room : 
Plain breakfast (tea or chocolate) if. 50c., about 30 
cents ; table d'hote dinner, served at separate tables, 6f . , 
servant's board 6f. per day. No charge is made for at- 
tendance. 

That Charles Binda is proprietor is guarantee that the 
table is equal to the Cambridge in New York, or the 
Albemarle in London, and these satisfy the most fasti- 
dious. Mr. Binda is famous for his cuisine, but he prides 
himself most upon the quality of his guests. He de- 
mands that above and beyond everything else his house 
shall be select, and it is so in the fullest sense. You 
may meet crowned heads and princes there. Hon. 
Thomas L. James, one of New York's honored and 
honorable citizens, with his charming family, stayed at 
the Binda while he was in Paris last summer, and I also 
saw Judge Dittenhoefer, the family of Vice-Consul 



130 PARIS HOTELS. 

Hooper, and other well-known Americans in the read- 
ing-room. Yes, the Binda is a select family hotel. 
Address No. 1 1 rue de TEchelle. 



HOTEL ANGLO-FRANQAIS. 



There are several comparatively small but decidedly 
pleasant hotels in rue Castiglione — Hotel Liverpool, 
Hotel Balmoral and Hotel Anglo-Frangais. The last- 
named is especially to be commended for its choice lo- 
cation, the comfort and cleanliness of its rooms, its ap- 
petizing cuisine, and its remarkably moderate charges. 
It is in rue Castiglione, directly opposite the Continen- 
tal ; two blocks one way from the Column Vendome, 
two blocks from the Place de la Concorde, near the 
Champs Elysees, and only a few hundred feet from the 
beautiful gardens of the Tuileries. 

Like the majority of Paris hotels, the Anglo-Frangais 
is entered by a court-yard, but unlike some of them, 
the ventilation and lighting of the house are good. It 
has ample room for more than one hundred guests, and 
they can be made very comfortable. 

The house is kept on the American as well as on the 
European plan. If you adopt the system which prevails 
abroad, you may hire a single room as low as four 
francs per day, or a double room from seven francs per 
day ; breakfast, three francs ; luncheon, four francs ; 
table d'hote dinner, six francs. This figure includes 
good wine in qiiantuin sufficit, as a medical man might 
say. As at nearly all Continental hotels, ** service" is 
charged. In this instance it is one franc per day ; and 
you pay for lights — item seventy-five centimes, about 
fifteen cents. 

But if you wish to be relieved of all this detail and 
save the bother of reckoning, you can stay at the Anglo- 



PARIS HOTELS. 131 

Frangais, and your whole bill per day for board, lodging, 
lights, wine, etc., will be the moderate sum of fifteen 
francs (three dollars), which, considering the appoint- 
ments of the house, the excellent table and the attention 
you receive, is an uncommonly low rate. 

The proprietor is a gentleman of decidedly pleasant 
and courteous manners, who,- having lived in England 
for twenty years, is perfectly at home in the English 
language as well as his native tongue. 

If you desire to mix with an ultra-fashionable set, the 
Bristol is your house ; if you want to see and be with 
Americans only, then select the Grand. The Continen- 
tal is the place for those who would feast their eyes on 
palatial salons : at the Anglo-Frangais you will get into 
the company of good people from different countries, 
you can be quiet and comfortable and made to feel at 
home, as is to be expected in a smaller house. More- 
over, your purse will be lightly drawn upon in accord- 
ance with the figures given above. Proprietor, Paul 
Vargues ; address, No. 6 rue Castiglione. 

Hotel de Lille et d' Albion, in rue St. Honore is 
not a very large house, but it is ranked among the best, 
although its charges are quite moderate. It has baths, 
lift, electric light and English billiard tables, its modern 
contrivances including telephonic communication with 
the leading European cities. The sanitary arrangements 
are said to be perfect. The location is central for shop- 
ping, for places of amusement and points of interest, 
being near Place Vendome, Tuileries Gardens and the 
Opera. Mail address, 223 rue St. Honore : telegraph ad- 
dress, Lillalbion, Paris. 

Hotel Bristol and Hotel du Rhin both front on the 
Place Vendome ; you can't miss them : they are near 
the tall and graceful Column Vendome which pierces 
the sky from the centre of the square. There is no 
question as to the excellence of either of these houses. 
Both are patronized by a select class of patrons ; the 



132 PARIS HOTELS, 

former is the home of the Prince of Wales when he 
visits Paris. 

Hotel Liverpool is patronized by the Astors. To 
Americans this information conveys more than could be 
detailed in a whole page of description. It is situated 
at 1 1 rue Castiglione, a wide and fashionable thorough- 
fare leading from Place Vendome to the Tuileries Gar- 
dens. The house was recently newly fitted up and has 
a hydraulic lift. There are large apartments for fami- 
lies making a more or less prolonged stay ; smaller 
apartments for transient guests. 

Hotel de l'Athenee. Of hotels just as select as any 
of those mentioned, there are a score or more. Among 
them may be mentioned the Hotel de l'Athenee, 15 rue 
Scribe. It was recently enlarged, the whole of the 
Theatre de l'Athenee having been added, and the former 
dining-room is now converted into a reading room. There 
are two bath-rooms on each floor. The appointments 
include a parlor, a reading room, a restaurant a la carte, 
and two private dining-rooms. There are 180 rooms in 
all, which rent from four francs to twenty francs a day, 
but there are not very many rooms in the house at four 
francs. 

Des Deux Mondes. — A comfortable family hotel, 
newly and tastefully furnished, is the Hotel des Deux 
Mondes, 22 Avenue de I'Opera, facing full south. The 
charges are moderate and the table d'hote good. 

Prince Albert. — If price alone is a recommendation 
there is the Hotel du Prince Albert, 5 rue St. Hyacinthe, 
near the Tuileries. Rooms from 2 francs 50 centimes per 
day with even lower terms for the winter. The house 
seeks American patronage. 

Hotel Brighton, 218 rue de Rivoli. Rooms from 6 
francs per day : breakfast, 2 francs, dinner 7 francs. 
Proprietor, A. Bastianello. 

Hotel Campbell. — This favorite house with an Eng- 
lish name has changed hands, lately. Arthur Geissler 



PARIS HOTELS, 



133 



is the new proprietor. It is at 6i and 63 Avenue de 
Friedland, a pleasant and fashionable location, near the 
grand drive of the Champs Elysees. The house is in a 
healthy condition and the rates are moderate, Hotel 
Campbell is easy to find ; it is close to the Arc de Tri- 
omphe. 




PENSIONS OF THE FIRST CLASS. 



But you are not forced to patronize any hotel, large 
or small ; there are many very delightful pensions or 
boarding houses in Paris. These some people prefer, if 
their part}- includes ladies, or if they intend to make a 
protracted stay. A few of ih^^^ pensions are presided 
over by American women. 

The Lafond combines some of the best features 
of hotel and pension. It is at 14 rue de la Tremoille, 
near the Champs Elysees. It is called " a comfortable 
American home," and is made all the more comfortable 
by having a lift. Rates for two persons in one room, 
with three meals per day, 18 to 30 francs per day ; sin- 
gle rooms, 10 to 15 francs per day ; children and serv- 
ants, half rates. These figures include all charges ; the 
American plan. If you prefer the European plan, these 
rates prevail — breakfast, two to four francs ; luncheon, 
three francs : dinner at 7 P.M., five francs. Cable ad- 
dress, Lafhotel, Paris. 

Hotel de Dijon is situated in rue Canmartin, between 
the Opera and the Madeleine. It is a family pension, 
and the charges range from 7 to 10 francs per day, ac- 
cording to rooms. Soirees are held every Friday with 
music, singing and dancing. The table d'hote is good; 
there are reading, smoking and bath-rooms. 

The Van Pelt Pension at 69 Boulevard St. Michel 
is kept by Mrs. E. L. Van Pelt, a Philadelphia woman 
who took with her to Paris the best American refer- 
ences. This place has many features which commend 
it to the stranger in Paris. Its location, facing the 
Luxembourg Gardens, is near the famous art schools 

134 



PENSIONS OF THE FIRST CLASS, 135 

and the Sorbonne, where free lectures are given, thus 
making this a desirable residence for students. It is 
within easy access by omnibus, cab or train to all parts of 
Paris and environs. The house stands on a corner, and 
all the rooms are exposed to the sun and air. A balcony 
surrounds the first floor. French is the language of the 
household, and a chaperon accompanies ladies to lec- 
tures, etc. There is a separate table for those who pre- 
fer to speak English. 

American Family Home. — This term is appropriately 
applied to the pension de famille presided over by a 
young French widow whose personal beauty and grace 
of manner are more than marked. Reference is made to 
Madame Veuve Leon Glatz, who is assisted in her duties 
by her sister. Both of them speak English with a pretty 
and piquant accent. The Glatz pension is in rue de 
Clichy, five minutes distant from St. Lazare Station and 
Park Monceau ; ten minutes from la Madelaine and the 
Opera. It was built in 1885 and is sanitarily correct ; 
supplied with pure spring water from the new water 
works of Paris. There is a really grand salon in which 
musicales are given weekly. In the rear of this is a large 
and handsome garden, neatly kept — a very pretty loung- 
ing place on summer evenings. There are baths in the 
house, the bedrooms are nicely furnished, the service is 
good, and last, and by no means least worthy of note 
is the table, which is liberally supplied ; the best as to 
quality. But Madame Glatz at present has only room 
for thirty guests and her house is in such demand that 
you must engage rooms months, or at least weeks, in 
advance. Terms, 8 to 14 francs per day, which is the 
full charge ; no extras, except, possibly, for lights. This 
is a favorite place with Americans of refinement : others 
are not admitted to Madame Glatz's charming family 
circle. Address, 45 rue de Clichy. 

The Powers Pension — One of the most desirable 
pensions in Paris, especially desirable for Americans, is 



136 PENSIONS OF THE FIRST CLASS, 

kept not by a "charming Frenchwoman," nor by a 
"hearty" Britisher, but by a couple of cultivated, good 
Americans, well-known in New York — Mr. and Mrs. J. 
G. Powers, Jr. The house is in a high and delightful 
location, in the American quarter, 69 Avenue dAntin, 
near the Champs Elysees. Mrs. Powers claims that it 
is "the most elegant and comfortable pension in Eu- 
rope," and I, who have had some experience in hotels and 
pensions of the first rank, do not contradict the state- 
ment. I am not given to using the adjective "elegant " 
too freely, but elegant and tasteful are words that come 
to mind without summoning, in speaking of the Powers 
pension. The salon is a beautiful apartment ; yes, un- 
commonly beautiful. It is on Monday evenings more 
particularly that this salon looks its best, when the re- 
ceptions, with music, are held. The Powers pension is a 
select family home in the strictest sense of the term, and 
the rates for board are quite reasonable : pleasant rooms 
and three meals from ten francs per day. A lift was put 
in last autumn. Make a note of the address — 69 Avenue 
d'Antin. 

In the hotels mentioned the reader has a very wide 
latitude of choice and he may be guided by the facts 
and the figures set forth, so far as they go. As a last 
word I will add that if the reader "puts up" at the 
Hotel Chatham, Hotel Binda, or the Anglo-Frangais, or 
the pensions of Mr. and Mrs. Powers, Madame Veuve 
Glatz, or Mrs. Van Pelt, he will surely have no occasion 
to regret his choice of quarters. 




THE RESTAURANTS OF PARIS. 



BY THEODORE CHILD. 



In order to anticipate criticism, and to avoid disap- 
pointment, it may be well to state at once that the art 
of cookery is in a terrible state of decadence in Paris. 
The men of the present generation do not seem to have 
the sentiment of the table ; they know neither its varied 
resources nor its infinite refinements ; their palates are 
dull, and they are content to eat rather than to dine. 
This decadence may be remarked both in private and in 
public establishments. The gour7net nowadays is a 
rarity, and a man of thirty years of age who knows how 
to order a dinner is a still greater rarity. One might 
discover many causes of this decline of a delicate art. 
The conditions of contemporary life, the hurry and un- 
rest of modern Paris, doubtless do not conduce to the 
appreciation of fine cooking ; but the chief cause of the 
decline of cookery in restaurants is the development of 
club life. The men of fashion, leisure, or wealth, who 
formerly would have lived at the restaurants, now dine 
at their clubs between two sea?ices at the baccarat table, 
and the restaurants have thus lost that nucleus of regu- 
lar and fastidious customers which, by its readiness to 
criticise and appreciate, obliged and encouraged the 
chef to keep up the traditions of the dainty palates of 
the past. At present the great restaurants of Paris de- 
pend for support as much on foreigners and on provin- 
cial people as on resident Parisians. The criticism of 
their cookery is less constant and less rigorous ; the bills 

137 



138 THE REST A URANTS OF PARIS. 

of fare are less varied than they were of old ; the amour 
propre of the cooks is less ; in a word, cookery has be- 
come nowadays more an industry than an art. Even in 
the most famous Parisian restaurants the visitor must 
not expect too much in the way either of viands or of 
wines. 

In certain things, again, it must be remembered that 
the Parisian market is inferior to the markets of almost 
any town in England. The English visitor generally 
speaks disparagingly of the French oyster, for instance, 
dotibtless because he is not accustomed to its flavor, and 
yet I know many connoisseurs who have travelled and 
dined in many lands who maintain that of all oysters 
the green Marennes {Martmies vertes) are the most deli- 
cate and delicious. The lovers of comparisons will ask 
what equivalents the French have for real turtle-soup, 
ox-tail, mulligatawny, and pea-soup with a sprinkling of 
dried mint and sippets. Is it their bisque or puree of 
crayfish, their consojnme de volatile, their Saint Gerinain, 
or green pea-soup, their Par7?ientier, or thick potato- 
soup ? But the traveller does not go to Paris to eat the 
food of his native land, but rather to enjoy the particu- 
lar food of the country. Therefore, he must not expect 
to get fine salmon, or cod-fish, or turbot, or even mack- 
erel in Paris. The city is too far away from the sea to 
have good salt-water fish. Salmon in Paris is dry and 
of poor flavor ; fresh cod-fish is rarely seen, and the 
habits of the restaurants render it impossible to eat such 
salmon and turbot as there is in favorable conditions. 
In a London restaurant a whole salmon or a whole tur- 
bot is served hot like the joints ; in a Paris restaurant^ 
if you order boiled salmon or turbot, the cook cuts a 
slice off a parboiled fish, puts the slice in the pot, and 
boils it up for you. The result is unsatisfactory. As a 
rule, I should say, in a Parisian restaurant eat your 
salmon and your turbot cold, and prefer to both a red 
mullet {rouget), a sole, a trout, or some fresh- water fish. 



THE RESTA URANTS OF PARIS, 139 

A carefully prepared matelotte d'angiiilles, which is not 
precisely the same as stewed eels, Sin6.frittire de Seine, 
which need not be compared to whitebait, are both 
dishes not unworthy of the attention of the epicure. 

The French are poor roasters ; the roast beef and 
roast mutton in their restaurants cannot for a moment 
be compared with the joints at Simpson's or Blanchard's 
in London. Pies and puddings also are unknown to the 
French, with the exception oi pates de foie gi^as and game 
pies. The French, again, eat their game very fresh and 
less cooked than the English. Generally, I think that 
the raw material^ of the Parisian restaurant cuisine is 
inferior to that of English restaurants ; on the other 
hand, with the limitations referred to above, particularly 
as regards roasting, the preparation of the dishes is 
superior, and in the first-class restaurants unique. In 
the preparation and variety of vegetables the French 
lead the world ; in the fabrication of sauces they are un- 
surpassed ; in the serving and arrangement of a dinner 
they leave little to be desired. 

But where can one go to dine in Paris ? Which restau- 
rants are the best, and what are the prices, and what is 
one to order ? The subject is delicate and even danger- 
ous, for although the critic has the right to declare a 
book or picture bad, pernicious, or abominable, and to 
pronounce its author to be unworthy of public atten- 
tion, he dare not be so outspoken about the wretchedest 
restaurant-keeper who is licensed to poison his custom- 
ers. I cannot tell you that such and such a restaurant 
in the Palais Royal is not to be frequented, or that such 
and such a gilded palace on the boulevard is an expen- 
sive delusion. I may, however, assure you that as 
prices run in Paris, it is impossible for a restaurateur 
to serve you with a healthy and honest plate of meat 
for less than one and a half francs, and you may there- 
fore conclude that the .restaurateurs who, for a fixed 
price, varying from one and a quarter to three francs, 



140 THE RESTAURANTS OF PARIS. 

offer you a complete dinner of five courses — soup, fish, 
meat, two desserts, and half a bottle of wine — are prob- 
ably in league with the honorable apothecaries, whose 
aid their customers must often need. 

To the traveller I say avoid p?^ix fixe dinners alto- 
gether, or, if you will satisfy your curiosity, go to 
the Diner Europeen at the corner of rue Lepelletier 
and the boulevard (price five francs), or to the table 
d'hote dinners of those vast caravansaries, the Hotel du 
Louvre, the Grand Hotel, or the Hotel Continental, 
where you dine for six, seven, or eight francs, and see 
specimens of men, women and children of all the coun- 
tries of the world, and a profusion of linen, of silver 
plate, and luxurious surroundings which, for a time, 
will perhaps distract your attention from the insipidness 
of the roasts and the cheapness of the sauces. 

The Bouillon Duval is an establishment which gener- 
ally attracts the attention of the traveller. In every 
quarter of Paris you see one or two sober and respecta- 
ble-looking fagades painted dark red and lettered sim- 
ply, * ' Etablissement Duval." The Duval restaurants 
are wonderfully organized, exceedingly cheap, and all 
the food sold in them is good and genuine ; these estab- 
lishments now serve an average of three million meals 
a year. The visitor may often find it convenient in his 
wanderings about Paris to lunch in one of these Duval 
restaurants, if he is out of the way of any other well- 
known restaurant. In all of them he will find the food 
of the same quality, and the prices the same. As he 
enters, the doorkeeper will hand him a bulletin, on 
which all that he eats and drinks will be checked off, 
and which bulletin, when duly paid and stamped, will 
serve him as a passport when he leaves the establish- 
ment. The prices at the Duvals are very low ; no dish 
costs more than one franc, and most of them only fifty 
or sixty centimes ; wine costs twenty centimes a carafon, 
which is equivalent to one glassful, or one franc a bot- 



THE RESTA URANTS OF PARIS. 141 

tie and upwards ; coffee and cognac costs forty cen- 
times. The Duval restaurant may be frequented with 
impunity, for nothing poisonous or deleterious is sold 
there ; the only disadvantage is that the portions being 
very small, a hungry man, in order to satisfy his appe- 
tite, will need so many portions, that his bill will mount 
up to as much as if he had lunched or dined in an estab- 
lishment of superior standing and comfort. The Bouil- 
lon Duval stands in the same relation to the regular 
restaurant as the omnibus or tram-car stands to the 
victoria ; as somebody has said, c'est r omnibus du ventre. 

At length we come to the restaurants proper, the res- 
taurants where one dines in the true sense of the term. 
It is commonly believed that the first-class restaurants 
in Paris are very dear. The Cafe Anglais, you will be 
told, charges twelve francs for a beefsteak for two, and 
fifteen francs for a Rouen duck. Yes, but the beefsteak 
in question is a Chateaubriand, a kernel of delicate 
meat cut in the heart of the filet, — meat that is sold at 
two and a half francs a pound by the butcher — and the 
duck costs eight or nine francs at the poulterer's. Good 
provisions in Paris are dear, and when one considers 
the heavy expenses of the first-class restaurants, one 
cannot complain of their charges. 

As regards perfection of cooking, the Cafe Anglais 
heads the list. Its soups and sauces are exquisite ; a 
sole '*a I'Orly," ''Colbert," *'normande," '*a la Join- 
ville," or ** au vin blanc," may be eaten there in perfec- 
tion, and there is no restaurant in Paris where you can 
get a more delicate *' sauce diable " served to a grilled 
fowl. The two great tests of a French kitchen are 
soups and sauces ; if these are good, you may rest as- 
sured that everything else will be good. 

In the same category with the Cafe Anglais, both as 
regards quality of food and price, may be placed Du- 
rand's, opposite the Madeleine, and Adolphe and Pelle 
behind the Opera. Next come the Maison d'Or, the 



142 THE RESTAURANTS OF PARIS. 

Cafe de la Paix, Bignon, and the Cafe de Paris, in the 
Avenue de I'Opera, Voisin in the rue Cambon, the old 
Vefour in the Palais Royal, the Pere Lathuile, in the 
Avenue de Clichy, and Fayot, opposite the Luxem- 
bourg Palace. At all these restaurants you can dine 
delicately and drink as good wines as are still to be had 
in France. Voisin and Foyot, especially, have choice 
Burgundies of incomparable fineness. 

The third category of restaurants includes the Cafe 
Riche, which years ago belonged to the first category ; 
Brebant's, now a general Bouillon, at the corner of 
Boulevard Montmartre ; Chevilliard, at the Rond-Point 
des Champs Elysees ; Laurent, and Ledoyen, in the 
Champs Elysees ; Champeaux, Place de la Bourse, 
where you dine in a perpetual winter garden ; Edouard, 
Place Boieldieu, opposite the Opera Comique ; Wepler, 
Place Clichy ; La Perouse, on the Quai des Grands Au- 
gustins ; Maire, at the corner of the Boulevard de Stras- 
bourg and the Boulevard St. Denis ; Marguery, next 
door to the Gymnase theatre ; Perroncel, rue du Havre, 
opposite the Gare Saint Lazare. In the Bois du Bou- 
logne the restaurants of Madrid, and of the Pavilion 
d'Armenonville are much frequented in the summer by 
gay and smart people : the prices are about the same as 
at the restaurants in town of the second category, that 
is to say, two can dine there modestly with ordinary 
wine for a louis. 

I presume that the traveller comes to Paris to taste 
Parisian cooking, and therefore I shall not recommend 
him to try the pseudo-English cuisine of Weber or Lucas 
in the rue Royale and Place de la Madeleine, or the 
Russian restaurant in the rue Marivaux, or the Hunga- 
rian restaurant in the rue Rougemont. There remain 
then to be mentioned only a few special establishments, 
such as the Pied de Mouton near the Central Market, 
and the famous tripe restaurant in the rue Montorgueil. 
There are several restaurants in Paris which make a 



THE RESTAURANTS OF PARIS, 143 

specialty of Bouillabaisse ; but I do not recommend that 
dish in Paris, for the simple reason that it is not the real 
article. In the Parisian Bouillabaisse several of the 
fish elements are wanting because they cannot bear 
transportation from the seaside. The traveller gouriJiet 
will prefer to wait until chance leads him to Marseilles, 
where the reigning chief of the great dynasty of Rou- 
bion will serve him this savoury dish on a balcony 
overlooking the blue Mediterranean. The cafe con- 
certs in the Champs Elysees are also much frequented 
by open air diners in the summer. The spectacle 
is curious and amusing, but the gourmet will flee the 
promiscuity and bustle of their dear and mediocre 
cuisine. 

To give precise details as to price is difficult. One 
may say generally that at the Cafe Anglais two persons 
can dine delicately and well without stint as to good 
wines or choice of dishes, for about two louis (fort}^ 
francs). On the other hand, the single man who is pre- 
pared to spend not less than seven francs on his dinner 
may enter boldly any restaurant in Paris, from the Cafe 
Anglais downward, and dine for that sum on soup, one 
dish, cheese, and half a bottle of wine. For ten or 
twelve francs one may dine simply but abundantly al- 
most anywhere, except at the very tip-top houses, such 
as the Cafe Anglais, Durand's, and Adolphe and Pelle's. 
By way of practical hints I will subjoin a few observa- 
tions. 

Beware of hors d'ceuvres and baskets of fruit, for their 
influence on the total of your bill is alarming. If you 
are alone, resolutely refuse radishes and butter, or 
rather leave them untouched on the table before you ; 
if you have invited a friend to dinner, offer him hors 
d'ceiivres and hope that he will refuse ; if you are with a 
lady, both hors d'oeicvres and the basket of fruit are obli- 
gatory. Eve offered fimit to Adam ; the least we sons 
of Adam can do is to return the politeness. 



144 THE RESTA URANTS OF PARIS, 

The real gourmet eats by candle-light, because, as 
Nestor Roqueplan said, **rein n'est laid comme une 
sauce vue au soleil." 

When you enter a restaurant refuse as a rule the 
place that is offered you. Choose your own table, and if 
it is breakfast-time secure a view through the window 
and a view of the whole restaurant, and if possible let 
the light strike on the table from your left hand. 

Preserve your freedom of will, but do not try to im- 
pose it. You are the master, it is true, and yet to a cer- 
tain extent you must obey. Consult, therefore, with 
the viaitre cT hotel, consider what he recommends, and 
accept it if it be to your taste, for in the good restaur- 
ants there is no question of passing off stale food. The 
7naitre dlwtel is flattered when you ask his advice, and 
it is his business to be acquainted with the special and 
daily resources of the larder. At places like the Cafe 
Anglais the written inenii mentions only a few very ordin- 
ary dishes, and you will inspire respect by not asking for 
the carte. At Bignon's do not trouble yourself about 
the carte J ask advice of the portly Louis, and do not dis- 
dain his counsel. In cookery as in love much confidence 
is necessary. 

Always ask for the wine list, la carte des vins, even if 
you end by selecting vin ordi^tatre. The richest people 
in the land drink vin ordinaire with their dinner, and 
dilute it with simple water. The traveller, therefore, 
need not fear to do likewise even in the most gorgeous 
restaurants. Champagne is not much drunk by French 
gourmets, and such champagnes as the Paris restaurants 
keep is sweeter than our people generally like. To the 
connoisseur in champagne I would say, **Do not drink 
champagne in France, for the best crus are to be found 
in England and Russia." If you desire fine red or white 
wines you will find the nomenclature and the prices on 
the list ; choose your Beaune, Pomard, Volnay, Nuits, 
or Moulin a Vent, your Tavel, Tonnerre, or Chamber- 



THE RESTA URANTS OF PARIS. 145 

tin according to your taste and purse ; consult confi- 
dentially with the butler, and mind that you always 
address him as sommelier, and not garfo?L The som- 
metier is inferior to the gar^on in the hierarchy of table 
service, as you will see from his more humble and re- 
spectful demeanor. 

Ask for r addition, and not either ta carte or la note, 
which savours of provinciaHsm. Verify your change 
rapidly, and see that no pieces lurk on the plate beneath 
the bill. Be liberal towards the waiter, for it is the 
fourboire that secures you a smile when you arrive and 
a smile when you leave, a helping hand when you are 
struggling into your overcoat, obliging and ready ser- 
vice, and the appearance, nay, even the reality of friend- 
ship. In the three categories of restaurants mentioned 
above do not give the waiter less than fifty centimes, 
however modest your bill, and the more delicate and 
satisfactory your dinner, the more liberal let your pour- 
boire be, ranging from one franc up to five, calculated 
generally at the rate of five per cent, on the total of your 
bill. 




THE ANGLO-AMERICAN BANKING CO. 



When Americans have the facihties to execute a good 
idea they always possess the energy and the boldness to 
execute it in a fitting way. Thus instead of going into 
small quarters in an out of the way location, the Anglo- 
American Banking Company of Paris selected a large 
and imposing building, fronting on two broad streets. 
Then with a liberal outlay of money they proceeded to 
fit up the different floors in luxurious style. The site, 
on the corner of Chaussee d'Antin and Rue Meyerbeer, 
half a block from the Grand Opera, a step from the 
Grand Hotel, and near some of the leading boulevards, 
is at once choice, central and accessible. 

The ground floor of the building, where money is 
exchanged and where letters of credit are cashed, is 
roomy and has a solid and business-like appearance, 
while the upper floors are furnished with an eye to con- 
venience, comfort and beauty. It is here, on this 
second floor, where there are tastefully furnished rooms 
for ladies, where desks are at hand for clients to con- 
duct their correspondence, and where the leading Amer- 
ican, English and French papers are kept on file in 
charge of a prompt-serving and careful attendant. 

The bank is now established on a firm basis ; it has 
the confidence of the French people, and it promises to 
become an "institution" in Paris. It is convenient to 
keep a small account at the bank, drawing checks 
against it in making purchases in Paris. But the house 
can be used for any and every legitimate banking pur- 
pose, and Americans find it very useful as a place where 
their letters may be addressed, where their letters of 

146 



A U BON MARCHE. 147 

credit are cashed and where they may meet friends. It 
has some of the features of a club, and although only 
established a few years is now quite a popular rendez- 
vous for Americans. The Anglo-American bank itself 
issues letters of credit payable all over the world. 

The officers of the American Banking Company are 
S. J. Gorman, of New York, president ; J. L. Carr, 
vice-president ; J. H. Hobson, of New York, general 
manager ; Edmond Huerstel, secretary. Cable address, 
Anabaco, Paris. 



AU BON MARCHE. 



Everybody has heard of, and all who have been to 
Paris have visited Au Bon Marche, world-renowned of 
dry goods establishments. This great emporium was 
practically founded by Jacques-Aristide Boucicaut, 
who, beginning life in a small way in the dry goods 
business, became partner, and finally sole owner of the 
Bon Marche. Once above the rank of ordinary em- 
ployee, he undertook to improve the moral and mate- 
rial condition of his fellow workmen. He inaugurated 
free classes in the arts and sciences, language, music, 
etc., and established a provident fund for long service 
in the establishment, supplied his employees with free 
medical attendance, and in many other forms, in addi- 
tion to large outside charities and good works, evi- 
denced more than enough of the spirit to entitle him to 
the appellation of philanthropist. At his death in 1877, 
the annual returns from his business exceeded sixteen 
millions of dollars. After his death his good works 
were continued by his widow, who, with an enormous 
fortune at her command, dispensed it in extended and 
elaborate charities, establishing the system of sharing 
of profits among her employees, creating a retiring pen- 



148 A U BON MARCHE. 

sion fund, erecting and maintaining hospitals, and at 
her death disposing of millions of francs to churches, 
colleges, and other public institutions. 

Mme. Boucicaut died ten years after her husband, but 
the Bon Marche still continues under the original plan 
and s^^stem of its founder. There are three thousand 
six hundred employees, and all the unmarried employ- 
ees of the establishment board on the premises. For 
the proper conduct of such a business the system of 
course must be perfect, near as may be. Rules and re- 
gulations are set forth and strictly adhered to. It is 
expressly provided that the food shall be wholesome 
and abundant. A doctor is attached to the establish- 
ment who may be consulted by the employees free 
of charge. Any employee called for military service 
can, at its expiration, resume his situation. No fines 
are inflicted under any circumstances. 

The Bon Marche forwards to any part of the globe all 
goods bought at the establishment, and to nearly all the 
countries of Europe, including Great Britain, it will for- 
ward free of charge for carriage any purchase to the 
amount of twenty-five francs (five dollars). A pretty 
souvenir volume is issued by the Bon Marche. It con- 
tains a useful indicator map of Paris, and a deal of inter- 
esting information about the great metropolis. It may 
be obtained free upon application by postal card. Ad- 
dress simply, Au Bon Marche, Paris. 





THE DE SOTO. 

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, 



The city of Savannah, with its balmy air, its far famed 
Bonaventure Cemetery, its pretty parks, broad streets 
and many natural attractions (acknowledged to be one 
of the most attractive Southern cities), was long avoided 
by many pleasure tourists, because it had no hotel 
worthy of a city claiming fifty thousand inhabitants and 
doing a business of over one hundred and thirty millions 
of dollars annually. 

Savannah is the greatest cotton port in the world — 
New Orleans excepted. Savannah has deep water and 
good docks. Sometimes as many as thirty English ships 
are in this port at the same time. They take cotton di- 
rect to foreign ports. Savannah is easily approached 
from North and South : presently it is to have communi- 
cation with the west — direct from Kansas City. When 
these and other contemplated improvements are made, 
Savannah expects to experience an era of great pros- 
perity. It is predicted that the city will double its popu- 
lation in the next ten years. 

149 



150 SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. 

Anyone who doubts that Savannah is steadily moving 
forward in prosperity has only to take a glimpse at the 
tax returns made to the city treasurer for 1891, to hav^e 
the doubt quickly dispelled. In 1890, the returns of 
personal property footed up $9,948,048, and in 1891 they 
were considerably over $10,000,000, the increase being 
about $500,000. The banks alone in '91 made returns of 
$506,000 in excess of 1890. This shows that there is a 
great demand for banking institutions. Real estate has 
increased $1,300,000. 

Such being the present condition and future prospects 
of Savannah, it was time that some movement were 
made for the better entertainment of visitors, so at last 
the citizens put their heads together and concluded that 
no matter how rich a city is in natural attractions, the 
climax of success is only capped by railway facilities and 
first class hotels. 

Mr. H. B. Plant, head of the Plant System, furnished 
the railway facilities, and now the citizens of Savannah 
have supplied the hotel. They formed a stock com- 
pany, subscribed a million of dollars and opened the De 
Soto, two years ago, which proved to be exteriorly one 
of the handsomest houses in this country, if not in the 
world, and interiorly one of the best appointed — in 
keeping with the American idea. 

Savannah never had a habit of going across the seas 
for hotel names. It boasts of no Victoria, no Bucking- 
ham, no Imperial, but it has a Screven, named after a 
prominent Georgia family ; a Pulaski, named for a mil- 
itary hero, and now a De Soto, in honor of the discov- 
erer of the Mississippi river. Savannah is nothing if 
not patriotic. It has a Monterey square, a Forsyth park, 
and among its monuments are the noble columns erected 
to perpetuate the memory of three revolutionary heroes 
— Jasper, Green and Pulaski. 

The De Soto cost a round million of dollars. It occu- 
pies, but does not literally * ' cover, an entire block of 



SAVAXNAH, GEORGIA. 151 

ground," as the writer of the little descriptive pamphlet 
has it. The house is built in the form of a hollow square, 
with entrances on three sides. This plan of construc- 
tion was adopted to leave a large open court in the cen- 
tre, thus securing an ample supply of Hght and air ; and 
the plan has succeeded to perfection. 

The dining-room, which seats nearly four hundred 
guests, has air and hght its full length, on both sides. 
Some of the bedroom doors, instead of wooden panels, 
have panels of ground glass to let hght into the halls. 
The bedroom in which these lines are written is fifteen 
feet square, not counting a deep recess for the windows, 
of which there are two, each measuring seven feet six 
by four feet six. There is also a transom over the door. 
To such an extent has this love of light been carried 
that even the elevator, instead of being built with soHd 
sides, has sides of strong, open wire work, through 
which Hght and air stream freely. 

The interior, while being on a broad, liberal, yes, a 
luxurious scale, has no striking novelties. It is mod- 
elled after the style of the large modem American 
hotels of the first-class. There is a large and splendid 
'* office" with reading-room, smoking-room, writing- 
room, and small parlors branching off ; there are open 
fires and all the etceteras of convenience and luxurv^ ; 
the whole ground floor is marble-tiled, the corridors 
are ten feet wide and richly carpeted ; they lead on each 
side to an inviting veranda ; there is pure water from 
an artesian well and the sanitary arrangements are said 
to be scientifically correct. 

The parlor, with its onyx tables, its gold-framed 
chairs, dehcate carpets, its richly-embossed furniture 
covering, its mirrors, electric lights and the Hght-colored 
walls minus am^thing that suggests a work of art, is, to 
my mind, rather cold and stiff. I prefer the home-like 
drawing-room of the Imperial Hotel in Aberdeen, Scot- 
land, with its profusion of fresh flowers, its cabinets and 



152 SA V ANN AH, GEORGIA. 

pretty things, or say, the drawing-room of the Langham 
Hotel, London, rich and pleasing in subdued, dark 
colors ; but the De Soto is an American hotel, it is kept 
after the American methods, and without doubt the 
parlor suits to perfection those for whom it is fur- 
nished — then why should anybody criticise its decora- 
tions ? 

But the exterior with its novel and beautiful construc- 
tion, a combination of architectural styles forming a 
very pleasing whole, commands instant admiration. 
There are towers, turrets, arched entrances, Queen 
Anne windows, fountains and a number of overhanging 
red-tiled roofs through which waterspouts project in 
picturesque fashion. The walls are of brick in two dif- 
ferent colors with terra cotta trimmings, railings and 
ornaments of black iron. All of these materials and 
colors are used with skill and the very best taste, mak- 
ing an artistic combination which is remarkably pleas- 
ing. Then the graceful palm trees here and there give 
the surroundings a tropical appearance and serve to add 
to the beautiful picture. 

The site of the De Soto was well chosen. All of the 
four streets on which it is built being wide, ample op- 
portunity is afforded to admire from a distance its lines 
of beauty. Its main front is on a very wide street, Liberty 
street, probably not quite so broad as Unter den Lin- 
den in Berlin, nor has it the grand palaces of that re- 
nowned German street ; but Liberty street is neat, 
clean and kept in good order, which is more than can 
be said of Unter den Linden. The sidewalks are of 
smooth-faced red brick ; between them and the roadway 
on either side there is a row of trees. There is another 
row of trees, also a car track, in the middle of the street, 
and on either side of the track again there is an asphalt 
drive for carriages. There is abundant space, and al- 
though i^ lacks the solid buildings of larger cities, the 
street itself is not lacking in attractions. 



SA V ANN AH, GEORGIA. 153 

Within five miniites' walk of the house is Forsyth 
park, with its acres of forest trees, and plenty of japon- 
icas and roses in full bloom at this writing, January 26. 
In the centre of this park there is a handsome fountain, 
modeled after the grand fountain in the Place de la 
Concorde, Paris. It is a mistake and a pity to half hide 
it behind japonica trees and rose bushes, from six to 
eight feet high. 

It is very enjoyable to sit in any of Savannah's pretty 
parks these days, say between noon and four o'clock. 
There is no danger of taking nor of feeling cold. 
At night and in the early mom the air is cool (36 to 42 
degrees), but in the afternoon it is soft and balmy — any- 
where from 56 to 76 degrees. It is an old habit of mine 
to carry a thermometer in my satchel, so I am not de- 
pendent on the hotel instrument nor on hearsay for my 
facts and figures concerning the temperature. Frost is 
rarely seen in Savannah, and they never get a sight of 
snow unless some of the ''beautiful" article should 
remain on the car roofs of trains coming from the 
North. 

The De Soto can accommodate four hundred guests, 
and besides, the dining-room and the smaller ' ' early 
breakfast-room " on the main floor, there is a banquet- 
ing hall on the first floor in which two hundred guests 
can sit dow^n comfortably. A novel feature for a hotel 
is a gymnasium, on the sixth floor, and above this, at the 
very summit, there is a large " Solarium," fitted up with 
chairs, tables and lounges. Here you can sit, bask in 
the sun, and, as Walt Whitman says, ' ' loaf and invite 
your soul." In this elevated position you get a magnifi- 
cent view of Savannah and the surrounding country — as 
far east as the Tybee coast, twenty miles distant. 

There are in all three hundred and thirty-eight bed- 
rooms, forty parlors and sixty bath-rooms in the house, 
affording many choice suites for families. There are 
no dark rooms nor inner rooms ; all have a street view, 



1S4 SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. 

a park view, or look out upon the court-yard. Every 
room has a wardrobe built in the wall, and this is cov- 
ered by a tasteful portiere. All the carpets and draper- 
ies, by the way, came from W. & J. Sloane, and the 
electroliers and gasoliers were supplied by Archer, Pan- 
coast & Co. , both leading New York houses in their re- 
spective branches. 

A band of twelve pieces (Cobb's Savannah Band) per- 
forms excellent music in an alcove near the dining-room 
during the luncheon and dinner hours. 

The house has been leased for fifteen years by Watson 
& Powers, who have had long experience in Charleston 
and other hotels. They kept the Pulaski House here, 
as a colored driver told me in answer to a question, 
" a right smart time," which still leaves the number of 
)''ears rather indefinite. The same gentleman and brother, 
who drive carriages for the house, and who drove 
me through Bonaventure Cemetery, said that the fire of 
two years ago, which burned for two days, destroyed 
the "'Sonic Hall." He also volunteered this piece of 
intelligence : '' Der Pulaski House is makin' a very big 
condition," which I translated to mean addition. My 
esteemed friend, Mr. Marcus Wight and his charming 
wife, of Lowell, Mass. , were our travelling companions 
for that day, and their delightful company enhanced the 
interest and the enjoyment of the drive. 

If you desire to see a hotel which contains all the 
latest and best American ideas, and, unlike the hotels of 
Europe, combines them into a perfect system, telegraph 
for rooms to the De Soto. It is advisable to take it in, 
as a resting place, between New York and Florida, or 
vice versa. 



P. S. — This is called a cold winter in Savannah, yet at 
six A.M., Thursday, January 29, the thermometer marked 
sixty degrees. 



THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA. 



Time, eleven A.M., February i. — Your correspondent 
is seated at his bedroom window ; there are two large 
windows in the room, and both are wide open. The 
apartment is twenty feet square with a twelve-foot ceil- 
ing ; it is not heated artificially and yet the temperature 
in it is seventy-two degrees. This is not said from 
hearsay, nor is the record taken from a hotel thermome- 
ter, which may be unreliable, but from a portable ther- 
mometer of my own. 

When the Place was Settled, — People ask, ** How 
old is Thomasville : when was it first settled ? " The 
writer can answer this question because he had the good 
fortune to be presented to no less a personage than 
Mrs. M. A. Bower, a most charming woman to look at 
and to converse with, who is proud of her fifty-six years, 
but whom you would judge to be at least ten years 
younger. Mrs. Bower was the first white child bom in 
Thomasville, and in the first real house erected in the 
place. It stood on the present site of the Mitchell 
House. Mrs. Bower is the daughter of Colonel and Mrs. 
Edward Remington who came here from Pawtuxet, R. 
I., in the year 1828. Set it down for a fact then that 
Thomasville is three score years old. 

Location. — Thomasville, the capital of Thomas 
county (this is not from a gazetteer, please believe), 
stands three hundred and thirty feet above sea level, 
being on the highest ground between Macon and the 
Gulf of Mexico, in the Uplands of Georgia. It is two 
hundred miles from the Atlantic, sixty miles from the 
Gulf of Mexico as the bird flies, twelve miles from the 

155 



156 THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA. 

Florida State line, a thirty-three-mile drive from Talla- 
hassee, and is reached from Jacksonville at the South or 
from Savannah coming from the North in a few hours 
by way of Waycross or Jesup, two places not particu- 
larly attractive to the tourist but quite useful as way 
stations, affording junctions for several lines of rail- 
road. 

Health and Pleasure. — Thomasville was at one 
time simply a health resort : people with consumption 
or other lung or throat diseases came here for relief and 
they found it. They, the sickly people, still come to 
get well ; but beside being a health resort it is now also 
a place for pleasure. Fashion has set its seal on Thom- 
asville. New York and Boston are well represented 
among the visitors, but the West especially favors 
Thomasville, and St. Paul, for its size, sends more peo- 
ple probably than any other city. A number of St. 
Paul citizens have cottages here and have set up fine 
establishments. Ladies dress for the morning ride or 
drive ; they dress for the mid-day dinner and again for 
the evening dance. Ladies at the hotels exchange visits 
with the cottagers, also with the townspeople, the per- 
manent residents giving strangers a warm. Southern 
welcome. 

Features of the Town. — To-day Thomasville has 
churches of all denominations (including a Jewish place 
of worship), two hotels far superior to any between 
Baltimore and Jacksonville, unless exception be made 
of the new Oglethrope at Brunswick ; a number of 
smaller hotels, numerous boarding houses, two daily 
newspapers, several good private schools, a flourishing 
college for girls and one for the other sex, a railway di- 
rect to the town — and five thousand inhabitants. The 
boys' college is a branch of the State University and has 
at present two hundred and fifty pupils. The other in- 
stitution, called ''Young's Female College," was en- 
dowed by a Georgian, and the charge for tuition is so 



THOMASViLLE, GEORGIA. 157 

low as to be nominal, ten dollars per year to each pupil. 
So the religiously inclined have ample opportunity to 
worship at their particular shrine, and the educational 
advantages of Thomasville are good. 
. Nature's Gifts. — The reputation of this place was 
gained by its dry and balmy atmosphere, its even tem- 
perature, its health-giving pine forests and by its free- 
dom from cold or sudden changes. The United States 
Signal Service report shows that the average winter 
temperature is about fifty-five degrees, and the average 
temperature last July, the hottest month here, was 
eighty-two degrees. While the winter days are warm 
the mornings and nights are pleasantly cool, and it never 
snows here. Once during the past fourteen years they 
did have a flurry of snow. It happened on a Sunday 
and the churches remained empty ; so interested were 
the inhabitants in the uncommon sight that they ne- 
glected the church and all took to snowballing. You 
need no overcoats nor wraps for outdoor wear, except, 
perhaps, for an evening drive, or for rainy days ; but an 
umbrella or parasol to protect you from the heat of the 
sun is indispensable. I am speaking of needing such an 
article at the present time, February i. 

The Piney Woods Oak. — To those coming from the 
North the sight of the trees in full leaf is as agreeable 
as it is strange. The pine, live-oak, hemlock and holly 
all have their branches thickly covered. There is a 
gorgeous live-oak on the grounds of the Piney Woods 
Hotel whose spreading branches measure sixty feet 
across. There is still a larger one in the town, which 
people travel miles to see. It spreads ninety feet across. 
But beauty does not always consist in bigness. The 
Piney Woods oak is both beautiful and big, but its sym- 
metrical beauty is its main attraction. Is it too warm 
on the hotel porch? Are the sun's rays too fierce? 
Cross over the road, fifty yards distant, and seek a com- 
fortable bench or rustic seat in the grateful shade of 



M THOMAS V/LLE, GEORGIA. 

the pines, in what is popularly termed ''Yankee Para- 
dise," but known more correctly as Paradise Park. It 
includes thirty acres laid out in walks and drives. There 
is no ice to make your step unsteady, but the needles of 
the pines render the paths rather slippery. 

When to Come. — You can pick violets in the open 
air and pluck in the fields a small bouquet of daisies at 
this writing, but to see Thomasville at its best, I am 
told that you most come a little later than this, when 
the grass is all green. You can then pluck wild roses 
to your heart's content. Then the pear orchards will be 
in full bloom, and the dogwood blossoms are a sight to 
behold. I have been here only three days and have 
seen no rain, but the soil is sandy and one can readily 
believe what enthusiasts say, that an hour or two after 
a long and heavy rain walking is again pleasant, the 
rain having percolated through the ground, leaving the 
surface perfectly dry, if not hard. And there is seem- 
ingly no end of lovely walks. You get out of the 
town in five minutes, and if you are bent on pedestrian 
exercise, and have an eye for beautiful scenes, turn your 
steps in any direction and you will make no mistake. 

What to Bring. — If the ladies of your party are 
equestriennes, by all means let them bring their riding 
habits with them : everybody rides. Driving, too, is 
largely indulged in, the roads being hard, smooth and 
unusually wide. They extend for miles and miles 
through the pine woods, and their picturesque beauty 
you will please imagine ; it is not easy to describe it 
without using more adjectives than I have at my com- 
mand en route. To sportsmen let me say, do not come 
without your dog and gun or you will never forget nor 
forgive the error. Wild turkeys abound, there are snipe 
in plenty and quail can be bagged by a novice. You see 
them on the road while driving, and the crack of the 
rifle is heard almost constantly. Quail on toast is a 
regular dish at the hotels at least once a day. 



THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA, 159 

The Negro and his Works. — Without desiring to at- 
tack political problems, to raise dead issues or to discuss 
questions that have long since been answered, one can- 
not resist the temptation to obtain information on the 
result of the emancipation proclamation, for although it 
is over a quarter of a century old the subject yet has 
great interest for this country, and for other countries 
also, for that matter. Here is a statement of facts and 
figures in condensed, nutshell form upon which chapters 
and books might be written — the colored population of 
Georgia pay taxes on real estate amounting to twelve 
millions of dollars, the realty being estimated at about 
one half its actual value, and their personal property is 
estimated at about six millions of dollars. There are in- 
stances of marked faithfulness and attachment of slaves 
to their former owners, some of the blacks still serving 
their white masters. Among the servants of Mrs. M. A. 
Bower, proprietor of the Piney Woods Hotel, are two 
who formerly served this same ** master," one of them 
being the skilful pastry-cook of the hotel. Negroes sa}^ 
that the whites and work do not agree. Possibly not ; 
they are unaccustomed to labor hard in this section, 
and on the other hand whites claim that the colored are 
by nature more fitted for work in such a climate. Be 
that as it may, it is certain that the colored people of 
the South are not over fond of work, either : you cannot 
depend upon their working regularly. So soon as they 
can put enough by to keep them in cracked wheat 
or hominy and a little tobacco the colored laborers 
are likely to throw up a job, and are not over particular 
if they occasionally leave an employer in the lurch. If 
you are a new settler and are building a house, for in- 
stance, they will have no compunction about leaving 
you some fine morning, or some wet afternoon, before 
your house is roofed in. Of clothing for warmth they 
need little, and the weather never being severe their 
log cabins or pine huts need not be very tight : if 



160 THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA. 

they shed the rain that is all that is necessary for 
them. 

The Chain Gang. — The jail at Thomasville was not 
near large enough until a new plan of punishment was 
adopted. The colored roughs committed small offences 
for the very purpose of getting into prison ; in that way 
obtaining food and shelter, and at the same time *' doin' 
nuffin. " Not so now : the town council met and adopted 
the resolution that prisoners should be made to work, 
and that is how the ** chain gang " came into existence. 
You will see gangs of colored men repairing the roads 
and engaged in other public works on the highway. 
They wear a striped uniform after the prevailing fashion 
at our State prisons. The two legs of each man are 
held close enough together by iron chains to prevent 
the action of running, but yet the chains afford him suf- 
ficient freedom to move about and make himself useful 
with pick and shovel. It is a novel sight for a stranger 
to meet one of these gangs on the road, and the clank 
of the locked iron links has a strange and weird sound. 
To their credit be it said, the men are ashamed of their 
public disgrace, and the Thomasville prison is now large 
enough to hold all the applicants for admission. Mak- 
ing the negro work and making him a public show have 
had good effect. Such a plan is of course not feasible for 
cities, but it might be adopted with a degree of success 
in thinly populated districts of Northern States. Tramps 
give Thomasville a wide berth. If one of the genus 
unwittingly wanders that way he is given his choice : he 
must leave at once or join the chain gang and work for 
thirty days. 

Upland Products. — Cotton is still king in the South, 
and Georgia produces its full share, but Thomas county 
is also noted for oats. More oats are produced in 
Thomas county than in any other county in the United 
States. This I have from one of the prominent citizens 
of the town, whose information is as extensive as the 



THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA, 161 

manner of imparting his knowledge is agreeable. If 
you come to Thomasville try to meet Dr. Bower. He 
practices his profession no longer, being interested in 
many large enterprises. He can give you more interest- 
ing information concerning these parts than probably 
any other person hereabouts. But you must allow a 
Httle for Dr. Bower's enthusiasm. He is apt to look at 
Thomasville and Thomas county through a rose-colored 
glass. From Dr. Bower your correspondent learned, 
among other things, that the Le Conte pear, which 
grows in such profusion here and in Florida, was 
brought to this country from China about fifty years 
ago, and propagated by Commodore Le Conte, a Geor- 
gian of French descent. It does not equal the Bartlett 
in flavor, but its skin is tougher, and it bears transpor- 
tation better. You may see orchards containing thous- 
ands of trees, and the trees average a production of 
twelve to fifteen bushels. Some trees are said to yield 
as many as thirty-five bushels. They boast here of the 
largest pear orchard in the world — two hundred and 
twenty-five acres. Last year twenty-five thousand 
crates of pears were shipped from Thomasville to cities 
in the North and West. Some found their way to the 
New England summer resorts, and were received with 
favor. Still, from all I can learn, while the North has 
its Bartlett, it need not envy the South its Le Conte. 

The Poor Kine. — It is conceded that they raise here 
in abundance cotton, oats and pears, and that pine 
trees, roses, magnolias, quail, figs, and other good 
things grow in profusion, but, on the other hand, the 
live stock is very poor indeed and meats must come 
all the way from New York if people demand meat that 
is good and nutritious. That is where all the meat 
comes from which is consumed at the hotels. It almost 
makes your heart ache to see the poor, weak oxen that 
are forced to work, and the thin, bony cows that must 
yield their milk. It may be different in summer time. 



162 THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA, 

when the grass is rich, but the cattle seem to be 
very poorly fed now, or not fed at all. They are al- 
lowed to roam freely about the streets and byways of 
the town, and pick up, by day or night, what they can 
find. 

The Winn Farm. — An exception to this rule must be 
made in favor of Winn Farm, a tract of eighteen hun- 
dred acres, owned by F.- J. Winn, several hundred 
acres of which are under cultivation. The stock there 
looks better than the animals you see in Thomasville 
proper, and for which you have nothing but sympathy. 
They make good wine, too, at Winn Farm, and it is of- 
fered in hospitable quantities from the hand of an at- 
tractive, cultivated woman, the presiding genius of the 
place, Mrs. F. J. Winn. The luscious, juicy oranges 
which are put on the tables of the Piney Woods Hotel 
in such liberal measure, come from the grove on In- 
dian River, Florida, owned and cultivated by Dr. Bower. 
The grove contains four or five thousand orange trees 
in bearing. 

The Hotels. — There is a standing joke about certain 
Southern cities where there are only two hotels, that, 
whichever one you select, you will wish that you had 
chosen the other. Although the hotels south of the line 
have greatly improved of late years, the old joke will 
still apply in certain towns and cities. Not so, however, 
at Thomasville. There are only two hotels here known 
to fame, and you will make no mistake if you select 
either. It is a matter of surprise to find two such hotels 
in such a comparatively small town. The Mitchell 
House and the Piney Woods Hotel (I take them alpha- 
betically) are both large, new, handsomely furnished 
and perfectly appointed houses, containing all the mod- 
em improvements, and erected with strict regard for 
the laws of sanitation. The Mitchell House is an im- 
posing solid brick structure, four stories high, two hun- 
dred feet square, with a cultivated park of two acres 



THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA. 163 

sweeping before its front piazza,. This little park is re- 
served for the hotel guests and their friends. 

The Piney Woods Hotel is within gun-shot distance 
of the Mitchell House, on the same street, with a front 
measuring three hundred and fifty feet, the other side 
overlooking Paradise Park, of which I have already 
spoken. The Piney Woods stands, as it were, and as 
its name might indicate, on the very edge of the pine 
forests, and yet it is only a five minutes' walk from the 
post-ofhce and a ten minutes' drive from the depot. 
The pamphlet issued by the proprietor tells you that 
**the Piney Woods is modelled similar to the Grand 
Union Hotel, at Saratoga Springs, "but this is a mistake 
of the compiler of the work, and is no compliment at all 
to the house under consideration — which is far more 
pleasing to the eye, exteriorly, than the Grand Union 
at Saratoga. The Piney Woods is built after plans of J. 
A. Woods, a New York architect, who planned the new 
Grand Hotel in the Catskill Mountains, and with its 
wide and lofty verandas, its projecting towers, its pretty 
corners here and there, is a facsimile on a somewhat 
smaller scale of that favorite and beautiful house. Any 
one who has seen the hotel on the line of the Ulster and 
Delaware Railway, can picture to himself the Piney 
Woods Hotel at Thomasville. The late Captain Gillette, 
who kept the Mountain Hotel, kept this one also for 
years. William E. Davies is now the manager of the 
Piney Woods. 

Each hotel, the Mitchell House and the Piney Woods, 
will accommodate nearly three hundred guests. 

The Best Route.— The Atlantic Coast Line, called 
"the short route to Florida, " is by all odds the best 
way to reach Thomasville from the Eastern States and 
from New York. The vestibule train, **the Florida 
special " of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which traverses 
this route, is the quickest and most luxurious train, 
with its dining-rooni car, library car, etc., but this only 



164 THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA, 

leaves New York on certain days of the week, and you 
must apply for seats a long time ahead, and then you 
may not get them. The ordinary trains, with Pullman 
sleepers, are good enough for the majority of travellers, 
and they afford people opportunity to stop over and see 
the cities en route — Washington, Richmond, Wilming- 
ton, N. C, Charleston and Savannah. Or, if you prefer, 
you may come direct from New York, in about thirty- 
two hours, to Waycross, Ga. , where there is connection 
for Thomasville, distant four hours. But if you "stop 
over," you must be prepared to travel in ordinary 
coaches between the Southern cities ; parlor cars are 
not attached to local trains. It would help Thomasville 
materially if the Savannah, Western and Florida Road 
(everybody in this section calls it "the S. F. & W.") 
were to run a quick train with a parlor car to meet the 
Florida special. The return would not be great at first, 
but it would prove profitable to the road ultimately. 
Washington, D. C, seems to be especially favored : the 
Atlantic Coast Line runs a Pullman buffet sleeping car 
for Washington passengers direct to Thomasville. 
Strangers and tourists make it a point to go to the 
stations to see the Pennsylvania vestibule train at differ- 
ent points of the road, and the colored folk stand and 
stare at the beautiful appointments with eyes and 
mouth wide open. "Only God's people," remarked 
one surprised darkey, "can ride in them carriages." 




A NEW SOUTHERN RESORT. 



If you tell people in New York that yon are "going 
to Brunswick for the winter," they will probably look 
at you with surprise ; some will say, ''Do you mean New 
Brunswick?" having in mind New Brunswick, N. J. ; 
while others will say, ' ' Brunswick ; where is Bruns- 
wick, in what State? I never heard of it." Well, new 
as Brunswick may appear to the majority, it is an old 
place, having been settled and laid out in the year 1763. 

Where is Brunswick? — Brunswick is in the South- 
eastern part of Georgia, not far from the Florida border, 
sixty miles below Savannah, seventy miles north of Jack- 
sonville. The city covers an area of two miles square, 
and is handsomely laid out, the whole adorned by some 
of the most beautiful groves of live oaks and cedars to be 
found in the South. It is situated on a small peninsula 
jutting out into the sea, surrounded on three sides by 
salt water, but protected from the severity of the ocean 
winds by outlying islands. Brunswick is only eight 
miles from the sea and there are no fresh water streams 
or swamps within many miles to breed malaria, the air 
being constantly renewed and vivified by the health- 
bearing breezes of the ocean, that render it, as official 
statistics show, one of the healthiest cities in the Union. 

Among its natural advantages are its climate, uni- 
form and mild in winter, its geographical position being 
but little north of St. Augustine, ice being seldom seen, 
and snow rarely, if ever ; its forests of pine, palm and 
moss-covered oak, its healthy soil, pure water, semi- 
tropical foliage and plants, the magnificent drives, and 
l^st, but by no means least, its superior water facilities, 

105 



166 A NEW SOUTHERN RESORT. 

having one of the finest harbors in the South Atlantic. 
As to the trees : I have stood under the far-famed old 
oaks of England, I have seen the moss-covered trees of 
Bonaventure, of which all Savannah proudly boasts, and 
admired the great oak at Thomasville, whose branches 
measure ninety feet across ; but there is an oak here 
which belittles them all for age, strength and size. 
Under the "Lovers' Oak " at Brunswick it is said that 
one hundred teams can find shelter from the sun's rays. 
It is called Lovers' Oak because a marriage was once 
performed under it, several hundred witnesses being 
present at the open air ceremony. 

Jekyl and Other Islands. — There are a number of 
beautiful islands near here which are fertile almost be- 
yond one's imagination. Everybody has heard of Jekyl 
Island, and all true sportsmen know it. It is famous as 
the location of one of the finest club-houses in the 
country, the island being a paradise for the sportsman 
and fisherman. It is literally full of game ; deer, wild 
turkey and other fowl are so plentiful that visitors are 
sure of good sport. Being a natural game preserve, 
upon which the general public have not been permitted 
to hunt, the increase has been rapid and the supply 
practically inexhaustible. The club-house, seen from 
the river, is a noble structure. Then there is St. Simon's 
Island, which lies off the coast at a distance of seven 
miles from Brunswick, and is noted for the wonderful 
fertility of its soil. It excels especially in fruits — 
oranges, peaches, figs, bananas, olives, lemons, limes 
and pecans, growing in great profusion. The climate is 
almost perfection. Ice is seldom seen, and snow has 
been seen here but once within the present century, 

A Doctor's Certificate. — Brunswick's peninsular lo- 
cation, almost surrounded by salt water, with immense 
pine forests on the north, extending hundreds of miles 
into the interior, conduces to a state of healthfulness 
'excelled by no other place of its population in the whole 



A NEW SOUTHERN RESORT. 167 

South. Dr. H. Buford, Health Officer of the City of 
Brunswick, makes the following official statement : 
* ' The result of my observation and experience as a 
practitioner in this city and in the country adjacent 
thereto, during a residence of seven years, proves that 
our mortuary statistics show a minimum death rate — 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., not excepted. During an active 
practice of seven years I cannot record a single case of 
scarlet fever or diphtheria. Hay fever and asthma are 
unknown here." 

A Mistake of Congress. — Brunswick is a century and 
a quarter old, but it went along lazily and slowly, like 
many other Southern towns and villages, and the war 
somewhat retarded its progress. Nor was it helped by 
a committee from Congress which, some years after the 
war, took a cruise along the Atlantic coast to examine 
the facilities of our seaports. Congress has not earned 
its peculiar reputation without deserving it. This com- 
mittee may have included members who were learned 
in the law, or who knew how to hoe potatoes, but of 
harbor advantages and the requirements of ships they 
must have been innocently ignorant. They reported 
that "the harbor of Brunswick was twelve feet deep." 
This went abroad and ships went elsewhere. How 
near to the truth came this report may be judged by 
one instance. On Friday, February 3, 1888, the English 
steamer, the Port Augusta, cleared this port drawing 
twenty feet of water and carrying 6,559 hales of cotton, 
weighing over three millions of pounds and valued at 
8300,000. It was the largest cargo ever cleared from a 
South Atlantic port, and ships drawing twerity-four 
feet of water enter and leave here without the slightest 
danger of touching bottom. So much for the congres- 
sional report. That the shipping facilities of Bruns- 
wick are becoming known may be judged also from the 
following facts and figures : During the whole month of 
February, 1887, the exports of cotton, naval stores and 



168 A NEW SOUTHERN RESORT. 

lumber amounted to 878,000 while for only \h^ first five 
days of Feb. , 1888, the exports amounted to over 8300,000. 
These figures are given on official authority from the 
collector of the port. Are more significant statements 
needed to show the marvellous advance and improve- 
ment of this place ? Here they are — the exports in the 
year 1886 amounted to less than a million dollars; in 
1887 they footed up over two and a quarter millions. 
The imports of 1886 were less than 85,000, the imports 
of 1887, 848,000. 

A City by the Sea. — How has all this seeming pros- 
perity and increase of business on the water affected 
the land? Well, in 1884 the population of Brunswick 
was 3,000, four years later it was 8,000 ; the increase of 
taxable property was thirty-three per cent, greater in '87 
than '86 ; the comptroller of the State says that this 
county (Glynn) has made for the last twelve months a 
larger pro rata increase than any other county in the 
State of Georgia, for eight years ago there was not a 
brick building in the place ; now there are blocks and 
blocks of brick stores and fine dwellings ; increase in 
the value of the land is almost fabulous, and there is a 
new brick hotel here, "the Oglethrope," which cost 
with furniture, 8160,000, the equal of which for site and 
style cannot be found between Washington, D. C, and 
St. Augustine, Fla. 

The Oglethorpe. — The new hotel is an evidence of 
and in keeping with the new order of things. The loca- 
tion of the building is choice — on the highest ground in 
Brunswick, affording fine views and rare sanitary facili- 
ties. The house is not merel}^ considered to be, but is 
fire-proof. So perfect is the protection against fire 
that the company insuring the property reduced the 
usual hotel rate one-half in consideration of the charac- 
ter of the building and the excellence of the fire system 
adopted. The Oglethorpe stands on the principal 
street, near the railway depot and- steamboat wharf, on 



A NEW SOUTHERN RESORT. 169 

a plot of ground about three hundred feet square, the 
main building having three stories and being two hun- 
dred and sixty-seven feet long, with wings running back 
one hundred and forty feet. It is the largest building 
in the place, and with its graceful round brick towers at 
each corner, and its turrets and spires jutting through 
the roof, here and there, it is the most prominent ob- 
ject you see as you approach Brunswick from any di- 
rection, either by land or water. The Oglethorpe, be- 
ing new, is the latest exponent of all that is best and 
most approved in modern hotel building, and of course 
has all the "modem improvements." The drawing- 
room is a grand apartment, reminding you of the 
parlor of the United States at Saratoga ; the dining- 
room is lighted from three sides, and seats three hun- 
dred persons ; the main floor, the entrance, office and 
lower hall are tiled with Georgia marble in beautiful 
colors, and there is a covered porch for promenading 
which reaches up to the second story. It is two hun- 
dred and forty feet long, and from twenty to twenty- 
five feet wide. 

The bedrooms of the Oglethorpe are larger, as a rule, 
than those of most hotels. Even the "small rooms" 
connecting with the suites are twenty feet long by 
eleven wide, and have two windows, each seven feet 
high by three feet wide. The * ' tower " rooms, with their 
open fire-places, carved wooden mantels, tiled hearths, 
rich Moquette carpets, portieres of velours, and lace cur- 
tains on brass poles are as handsome as the bedrooms 
of any other hotel that the writer has seen, and if the 
walls and ceilings were artistically decorated and fres- 
coed, the "tower" rooms of the Oglethorpe probably 
might compare with those palatial bedrooms of the Hotel 
Metropole in London. A peculiarity of the Oglethorpe 
is that there are no back rooms ; each one faces the 
street or overlooks the bay, but a few hundred feet dis- 
tant. Between the bay and the house the grounds of 



no 



A NEW SOUTHERN RESORT. 



the hotel are attractively laid out. As to the table and 
general management of the Oglethorpe, it is only neces- 
sary to say that the manager is Warren Leland, Jr. , a 
member of the celebrated Leland family — a name long 
associated with some of the leading hotels in the 
United States. 

En Route to and from Florida. — Brunswick is 
reached by rail from the North by the Atlantic Coast 
Line and the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad 
by way of Savannah and Waycross, Ga. , and from Jack- 
sonville, Florida, by railway to Fernandina in one hour, 
and thence by steamboat in four hours. The water route 
is very pleasant. The boats, if not splendid specimens 
of naval architecture, are at least staunch and comfort- 
able. You take an inside route, hug the shore, pass 
many beautiful islands and get glimpses of most pictur- 
esque scenes. 

Tourists contemplating a visit to Florida for health or 
pleasure do well to break the journey at Waycross or 
Jessup, visit Brunswick and see the charming country 
thereabouts. The run is made from Waycross to Bruns- 
wick in three hours and ten minutes. 

The route Southward is from New York to Quantico, 
Va. , over the Pennsylvania tracks ; from Richmond to 
Charleston via Atlantic Coast Line ; from Waycross to 
Brunswick by the Plant system. Leave New York 
(Desbrosses or Cortlandt streets) at 9 P.M. or midnight 
— through car to Waycross. 




A CUBAN CITY IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Key West, February, 1891. 

Key West, in Spanish Cayo Hueso (Bone Island), de- 
rived its name, so says history, from the fact that the 
island was strewn with human bones. The conquerors 
didn't take time to bury the bones of the conquered. 
The change, corruption Spaniards call it, from Cayo 
Hueso to Key West was easy. 

The United States bought the island from Spain in 18 16. 
The formation is coral and it contains about two thou- 
sand acres. The Hon. C. B. Pendleton, editor and pro- 
prietor of the Equator-Dejnocrat, and a man of culture 
who has served in the State Senate, showed me an 
island, or key, as they call it in these parts, distant 
from Key West five miles, and which he believed to be 
the most southerly point in the United States. Another 
authority informed me that Cape Sable, distant from 
Key West about sixty miles, is the most southerly 
point. 

To quote Editor Pendleton, Key West is distant from 
the tropical line only thirteen miles. Doctors will differ; 
another authority gives it as sixty miles. I am inclined 
to think that on the tropical question my editorial 
brother is correct in his estimate, because Key West is 
only distant from Cuba eighty or ninety miles. 

The climate is about the same as that of Havana. In 
the Cuban capital the mercury never goes below sixty 
degrees ; in Key West the lowest point recorded is fifty- 
one. 

Key West is the ninth port of entry in the United 
States, collecting more import duty than all the other 



172 A CUB AX CITY IN THE UNITED STA TES. 

ports in the States of Florida and Georgia and one-half 
of Alabama combined. 

In i860 the population was about two thousand, one- 
quarter of whom were colored; but in 1869, after the 
rebelHon in Cuba, the population of the island began 
to increase and now it numbers twenty-two thousand, 
and they claim that it is the largest city in Florida. 

The inhabitants are mixed, very much mixed — Cubans, 
negroes, Americans, Chinese, etc. The negroes come 
from Nassau, Cuba and other places. 

Key West was bought of Spain, as before remarked ; 
the island is nearer Cuba than any other land, it is 
not in any sense American except that it flies the 
American flag, and it seems to be now, to all intents 
and purposes, a foreign place — a Spanish colony, as it 
once was. Spanish is the prevailing language, and 
Cubans predominate. All the public notices and hand- 
bills are printed in two languages, several newspapers 
are printed in Spanish, and only one, the Equator- 
Be moc rat, in English. It is diflicult to make a purchase 
or to transact any business unless you speak Spanish, 
and there are few drivers or conductors of street cars 
who can understand you if addressed in English. The 
car drivers swear at their patient, sadly abused mules 
in hard Spanish. All the American residents and busi- 
ness men speak the prevailing tongue, or are learning it 
as fast as they can, for without it they cannot so readily 
conduct business. 

Speaking of the street cars, they are all open, of 
course, winter and summer. In fact, there is never any- 
thing resembling northern winter weather in Key West ; 
hght summer clothes and Panama hats are worn the 
year round. 

But you are not obliged to patronize street cars. Rid- 
ing in private conveyances is at a cheaper rate of fare 
than even in London, or in a country town on the Conti- 
nent. In London the smallest cab fare is one shilhng 



A CUBAN CITY IN THE UNITED ST A TES. 173 

(twenty-five cents) ; in Key West you can ride a short 
distance for a dime, and a longer distance for fifteen 
cents. The conveyance is a very light and very dirty 
wagonette on four wheels. The driver is as dirty as his 
vehicle, and his horse resembles those poor skeletons 
which are bhndfolded and pushed into the arena at a 
Cuban bull fight. 

Such tropical fruits as the sugar apple, the guava, 
mango, the soft and sweet sapadillo, thrive in Key 
West. The climate and salt atmosphere combine to 
make it the home of the palm. There are many tall, 
slender and beautiful cocoanut trees, some with their 
graceful leaves waving as high as eighty feet in the air, 
making an interesting and pretty picture against a 
cloudless sky. 

But the cultivation of the cocoanut in Key West might 
be made very profitable as well as picturesque. At 
present there are comparatively few of such trees ; their 
cultivation ought to be encouraged. The tree has no 
tap root, and will thrive on a thin soil. It comes into 
bearing eight or ten years from the nut ; and after that 
the fruit grows and increases every month in the year. 
Like the orange tree, the older it gets the more it bears. 
A bearing cocoanut grove costs less to care for than an 
orange grove, and the revenue therefrom is greater. It 
requires no cultivation, and is as hardy in its section as 
the cabbage palmetto, that grows ever3'where in Florida. 
Besides, cocoanuts can be shipped in any month of the 
3^ear ; they require no packing, no care in handling, 
and they will bear transportation for thousands of 
miles. There is a good market for green cocoanuts in 
these parts as well as for matured ones. When the nut 
is fully grown, but green, it contains about two glasses 
of clear juice, milk we call it in the North. It is consid- 
ered a healthful beverage in the tropics and sells per 
glass in the streets of Havana for the equivalent of five 
cents. 



m A CUBAN CITY IN THE UNITED STA TES. 

Nature has favored Key West with a perfect climate. 
It is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, as blue and as 
beautiful as the famous Danube. Nature in fact has 
done everything she could to make the place desirable 
as a residence for man, but man has done little or noth- 
ing for himself, thus far, and if the truth must be told, 
notwithstanding its favorable natural conditions and its 
lovely surroundings, Key West is not yet a desirable 
place to live in. It has no sanitary laws, for nothing 
whatever has been done with a view to sanitation, and 
yet with the salt ocean all around the little island, how 
easy it would be to make it healthy and clean, for it 
is neither one nor the other. There is no such thing as 
system, no sewerage whatever in the town excepting 
one iron pipe which leads from one hotel, the Russell 
House, to the sea, and even that one pipe is allowed to 
clog occasionally. 

A liberally illustrated and large edition of the Equa- 
tor-De?nocrat was issued in 1889, which presents a very 
rose-colored view of Key West. In that paper I find 
that ' ' the pleasant streets running at right angles are 
as smooth and hard as adamant." I am not certain 
that I am very well acquainted with adamant, but I 
know that the streets of Key West are unpaved and 
that they are the roughest and the dirtiest streets I ever 
saw. As I have lived in Baltimore, in New York and in 
New Orleans, my testimony ought to be accepted on 
such a theme. I speak of Key West in fine weather; 
what it must be in wet weather I don't like to imagine. 
If nothing but very deep ruts, holes and great gullies in 
the roadway resemble adamant then is Key West ada- 
mantine beyond doubt. 

There is not a boot-black in the town ; none is needed. 
Nobody thinks of blacking his shoes ; it would be ab- 
surd. I spoke on this point with a young New Yorker 
who hails from the fashionable precincts of Madison ave- 
nue. He is a business man who is liberal in the matter 



A CUBAN CITY IN THE UNITED ST A TES, 175 

of money, usually dressy, and extremely neat in his 
person. He has been in Key West six months, and in 
all that time not a brush has passed over his shoes. 

I regret to differ with my learned and courteous 
friend, the editor of the Democrat, on the subject of 
hotels. Let him speak for himself. He says that ** The 
Russell House, the leading hotel in the city, is second 
to none in the State in accommodations. " Now I had 
an idea that St. Augustine and Jacksonville and Tampa 
were in Florida, and that there were such hotels * ' in 
the State "as the Ponce de Leon and The Cordova at 
St. Augustine, and the new Tampa Bay Hotel at Tampa 
Bay, not to mention a number of other first-class houses 
" in the State." 

Directly opposite the Russell is the Duval House. 
You may never have heard of it ; it is not one-third the 
size of the Russell House. I know nothing of the apart- 
ments of the Duval, for I investigated no further than 
the dining-room, but that was enough to establish its 
good reputation. It will be a long time before I forget 
how beautifully garnished a dish they made at the Duval 
of a red snapper, and the delicious flavor of their ome- 
lette soufflee remains with me still. The Duval is pre- 
sided over by a Cuban lady, Mrs. Bolio, who kept for 
years one of the leading hotels in Havana. She is evi- 
dently a woman who knows what good living is. 

Cigar-making is a very large and important industry 
in Key West. The place was selected for cigar-making 
because the climate is suited to the ''curing" of to- 
bacco in the leaf, and because it is near Havana. 
There is something also in the name. Everybody does 
not know that this (Spanish) island is United States 
territory, and some smokers if they see a " Key West " 
label on a box of cigars believe, without stopping to 
think, that they are smoking a foreign-made cigar. 
Now a Key West cigar if made from Havana tobacco 
of fine quality has just as good a flavor as if it were 



176 A CUBAN CITY IN THE UNITED ST A TES, 

made in Cuba, but the Key West cigar can be sold at a 
lower price because the import duty on cigars is much 
higher than the duty on the raw material. 

Having the same climate as Havana, the best climate 
in the world for tobacco curing, and the cigars being 
made by Cubans, who are the best cigar-makers in the 
world, Key West turns out just as good cigars as can 
be produced anywhere — provided always that tobacco 
of the first quality is used. And the cigar need not 
consist entirely of Havana tobacco. A cigar of choice 
flavor is made of a mixture of tobaccos — Havana ' ' filler " 
and ''binder," with, say, a *' Connecticut seed " or Suma- 
tra wrapper. 

The manufacture of cigars has without doubt aided 
largel}" in building up the business of Key W^est. One 
authority says that there are two hundred factories, 
employing five thousand operatives, and transacting a 
business amounting to seven millions of dollars annu- 
ally. But this report may be exaggerated. However, 
here are some more figures, and if the reader is mathe- 
matically inclined he can draw his own conclusions : 
Key West during 1890 turned out one hundred and forty 
millions of cigars. 

There are very few Spanish or American cigarmakers 
in Key West ; the majority are Cubans, with a very 
small sprinkling of negroes. There are so many fac- 
tories and so many operatives that, although it is a 
cigar-producing place, very few cigars indeed are sold 
at retail. Everybody smokes, every one invites you to 
smoke ; cigars are almost as free as the air. It would 
be a paradise for a 3'oung dude who has a slender purse 
and who is addicted to the weed. 

Upon the courteous invitation of P. Pohalski & Co., 
who have a branch in Havana, with headquarters in 
Warren street. New York, I paid a visit to their factory, 
which is one of the largest in Key West, and I was much 
interested in what I saw. Pohalski & Co. erected their 



A CUBAN CITY IN THE UNITED STA TES. 177 

own factory, upon their own ground, and it is one of the 
most imposing edifices in Key West. They also built 
upon their own land a number of small houses which 
they rent to their workmen at a moderate figure ; for 
its size it is quite a respectable colony. 

Although very large, employing several hundred 
hands, the factory is orderly, exceedingly clean and 
iieat, showing good government. Perfect system reigns 
throughout the entire establishment. The first floor is 
used for the business ofiices, for cases of tobacco and 
for the "strippers ; " the whole of the second floor is oc- 
cupied by cigar makers, and the third floor is used by 
the ''packers," also for curing leaf tobacco and for stor- 
ing cigars in boxes. 

A ** stripper" is one who, with the dexter finger and 
thumb of the right hand pulls the stem from the leaf 
while the leaf is damp, the leaf being held in the left 
hand. It is done by a dexterous and quick movement, 
not a vestige of the leaf remaining on the stem. The 
most costly leaves, for wrappers, are only entrusted to 
experienced operators. The strippers in this factory 
are numbered by scores. They are all females, all 
Cubans, and range in age from ten years old to women 
of fifty. 

It is not a pleasing sight to one who associates woman 
with habits of refinement, to see the older women, while 
at their work of stripping, smoke long, thick cigars. 
They hold the cigar between their teeth and seldom 
remove it, not even to talk. They are rough-looking 
cigars, rolled into shape by the women themselves from 
the leaves they are stripping. 

A more pleasing picture is presented on the cigar- 
making floor, above. You will be surprised upon enter- 
ing to see a man standing erect in the centre of the 
room, book in hand, reading aloud. You cannot help 
but notice, although Spanish may be Greek to you, that 
thQ reader's voice is powerful and well trained, reach' 



178 A CUBAN CITY IX THE UNITED STA TES. 

ing to the extreme corners and to the most distant ears 
on the vast floor. He is a professional reader. The 
several hundred men club together, each paying a nom- 
inal sum for the reader's services. In this way, while 
engaged in their work, they hear the news of the day 
and are regaled with the latest Spanish novel. 

" Packing " cigars is a technical term. It is not sim- 
ply to tie them up with pretty silk ribbons and place 
them neatly in a box. A packer is one who assorts the 
colors also. It is a very nice and delicate piece of work. 
It demands a good eye for color and long experience, 
and then it can only be done in a certain light, of course 
not by artificial light, nor unless the day is bright. 

An overcast, murky and heavy sky is not good for 
packing — assorting, it might be called. In a few hun- 
dred loose cigars placed on a table ready for ''pack- 
ing," the casual observer will probably see only three 
or four colors. They are first assorted roughly to bring 
together those of decided colors — light brown, medium, 
dark brown, etc. Then a pile of dark or light shades is 
gone over again and again until the different piles of 
cigars are alike, as if they were all made from one leaf 
and turned out by machinery. The packer also dis- 
cards a cigar that is not perfectly made, or one not uni- 
form with the rest. A special few, exact as to form and 
hue, are selected for the top row, to catch and please 
the eye of the smoker when the lid of the box is raised. 
A good packer is paid better than any other operative 
in the business. Men and women are employed in it, 
some of them earning as high as twenty-five or thirty- 
five dollars per week. 

The sponge trade is also a very large and important 
industry here. The sponges are found in this part of 
the Gulf of Mexico, and the trade gives employment to 
a great many people. I visited the largest sponge 
house, that of Arapian & Co., and saw there in different 
stages, sponges valued at a quarter of a million dollars. 



A CUBAN CITY IN THE UNITED ST A TES. 179 

Such a stock of sponges, as yon can easily imagine, oc- 
cupies much space. My only surprise was to find such 
valuable merchandise housed in a light frame building. 
A fire would spread easily, and the whole would be 
rapidly consumed. 

I have spoken of the dirty, unpaved streets of Key 
West ; it would be unfair not to mention a lovely drive 
which you can take for a few miles on the edge of the 
Gulf. You go around the old forts, you see lighthouses 
and other interesting objects en route, the bracing air 
from the Gulf fans your cheeks, the ocean is spread out 
before you, and if you return in the early evening, and 
near dinner time, you will most likely be favored with a 
grand sunset, and you will surely have a keen appetite. 

Key West is reached from New York by steamers of 
the Mallory line, and from New Orleans by New Or- 
leans and Havana steamers, but decidedly the best 
and most luxurious way of going to the island is by the 
Plant line of steamers which leave Tampa, Florida and 
Havana, Cuba, three times a week. The " Mascotte " 
and "Olivette" were built for this route. They are 
both staunch, swift, beautifully appointed ships, whose 
commanders were in the Atlantic service for years, the 
''Olivette" being the fastest boat of her size in the 
world — a model vessel. 

If you are going to Key West for pleasure — it is possi- 
ble for people to go there with that end in view — you 
will go from New York to Jacksonville via the Pennsyl- 
vania and Atlantic coast lines and there take the Jack- 
sonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad, although part 
of this ** railway " journey consists of a sail on the Gulf 
of Mexico, from Tampa. 

The island, with all its objectionable features, has 
churches of different denominations, it has convents, 
good schools, and has one large substantial and beauti- 
ful brick and stone building for a custom house, for 
which the government appropriated one hundred thous- 
and dollars. 

Key West has a police force numbering fourteen offi- 
cers, including men of all colors and several nationalities. 



ST. AUGUSTINE, 



AN ANCIENT CITY MODERNIZED. 



St. Augustine, Fla., Feb. 8, 1891. 

What a contrast, to leave the dust and dirt of Key West, 
its unpaved roadways, full of deep ruts, large holes and 
great gullies : Key West, with its mixed population of 
twenty thousand negroes, Cubans, Chinamen and white 
folks : Key West, minus sidewalks, and minus many 
evidences of a high state of civilization : what a con- 
trast is it to arrive in this beautiful city of the South, 
with its smooth-paved streets, its cleanly and aristo- 
cratic air, and its three wondrously beautiful Spanish 
hotels, all within speaking distance of each other. It is 
like leaping, if I may use such an expression, from hades 
to heaven. 

The changes here within the past three years are great. 
Most important to the tourist is the erection of a railway 
bridge which crosses the St. John's River. Three years 
ago you were obliged to stop at Jacksonville if you ap- 
proached from the north ; if from the south, you 
steamed across on a ferry-boat from Palatka. Now you 
take your seat in a drawing-room car at Jersey City, in 
the North, or at Tampa, if you approach from the 
South, and you need not leave the car until the conduc- 
tor calls out ** St. Augustine " — thirty-one hours by ves- 
tibuled train from New York, twelve hours by the West 
India Fast Mail from the Gulf, at Tampa. 

As to other changes, much land has been reclaimed 
from the river, miles of roadway have been asphalted 
and paved with wooden blocks ; the old fort is being re- 
«;tored, for which work the government has appropriated 

J80 



ST. A UGUSTINE. 181 

$15,000; many new houses have been built, all of co- 
quina and in the Moorish style ; to the oldest house in 
the town has been added a new stone tower ; there has 
been erected a new City Hall, which includes a fine 
market ; and to crown it all, as it were, there is a new 
church, a Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in mem- 
ory of the beautiful daughter Mr. Flagler lost two years 
ago. The structure is so attractive, so pleasing to the 
eye, that in driving away from it you find yourself con- 
stantly turning around to keep its graceful architectural 
lines in view as long as possible. 

It is probably not possible to enhance the splendor of 
the Ponce de Leon Hotel, the drawing-room of which, 
with its magnificent proportions, its onyx fire-place, its 
ceiling decorations, its rich carpets and furniture, and 
its rare paintings by Bridgman, Koppay, and other 
artists, is not rivalled by any other hotel in the world. 
To call it palatial is no compliment to *' the Ponce " par- 
lor, for I have seen no apartments in royal palaces that 
are more pleasing, and I have been favored with a view 
of many palaces in many countries. But the approaches 
to the great hotel and its own grounds have been im- 
proved and are now finished. 

The same remarks will apply to the exterior of the 
Alcazar Hotel, the smooth and pleasant w^alk around the 
outside of which measures just half a mile. The colored 
boys know : they use it semi-occasionally for a foot or 
bicycle race: "twice around the Alcazar is one mile" 
they will tell you. 

One of the novel features of this establishment is a 
swimming pool, into which the sulphur water rushes 
up from the artesian well with great force. There is 
room in the pool (40 by 120 feet) for scores of swim- 
mers, and there is always a number of visitors looking 
from the galleries above on the lively scene below. 
With the mercury ranging between 70 and 80 the 
sulphur water is indeed refreshing ; and they say it 



182 ST. AUGUSTINE. 

is quite invigorating. Temperature of the water, 75 
degrees. 

In the Hotel Cordova you will notice some changes, 
for the indefatigable manager, E. N. Wilson, is never 
content with his efforts. There is a new dining-room 
for instance. The best seems not good enough for Mr. 
Wilson, and his critical eye is always finding some way 
to improve the house and to add to its comfort. He has 
redecorated the parlor. The walls are now richly papered 
but the tints are not satisfactory — to Mr. Wilson. The 
furniture and carpets are in dark colors, so Mr. Wilson 
later on contemplates covering the walls with white and 
gold for an artistic contrast. Expensive ? Yes, I should 
say so, but who cares for the expense ? Mr. Flagler has 
a very long purse and Mr. Wilson has carte blanche. If 
the owner in planning these hotels had thought only of 
pecuniary profit probably they would never have come 
into existence in their present form. It is an idea with 
him to beautify the ancient city, and a half million dol- 
lars more or less make little or no difference to Mr. 
Flagler. Yet his hotels are conducted with a careful 
regard of business-like methods, although this is not 
apparent to the casual observer. 

By the way, I have the very best of reasons for know- 
ing that Mr. Flagler's private acts of charity are many 
and munificent. After making full and proper inquiry 
into a case presented to him he always responds, but he 
never wants his generous acts to be made public. He 
will not thank me for this "mention," I feel sure, but it 
is his due and possibly no harm can come from print- 
ing it. 

Mr. Flagler has bought all the land around and about 
his three hotels, so that nobody can erect anything any- 
where near him. He is not the man to do anything by 
halves. 

The sitting-room in which this is penned is one of a 
suite I occupy in the castellated tower on a corner of the 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 183 

Hotel Cordova. The walls of the building are of gray 
coquina. Outside each window is a small and separate 
** kneeling balcony," protected by ornamental iron rail- 
ings, painted a reddish brown — such balconies as you 
see in some buildings in Madrid. The windows have 
white lace curtains and the shades are alternate blue 
and crimson — contrasting pleasantly with the neutral 
tint of the outer walls. To the east, within stone's 
throw, is Cordova Park ; to the west, the same distance, 
is the one-acre park of the Alcazar, with its tropical 
foliage, pretty walks and handsome fountain; while 
diagonally opposite, same distance agaiji (about one 
hundred feet), loom up the terra-cotta turrets, towers, 
arches and gabled roofs of the Ponce de Leon Hotel, 
with its grand park of four and a half acres. This may 
convey some idea of the situation; to describe the scene 
requires the pen if not the pencil of an artist. 

The Cordova drawing-room has its tables and chairs, 
and it contains some books also ; not odd volumes 
picked up haphazard, but books bought and selected 
by an artist, book-worm and connoisseur. In the Cor- 
dova library you will find ' ' Burke's Peerage, " * * Almanach 
de Gotha," ** Webster's Royal Red Book," *' Kelly's 
Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Offical Classes," 
"The County Families of the United Kingdom," De- 
brett's ** House of Commons and the Judicial Bench," 
*' Castles and Abbeys of England " and *' Stately Homes 
of England." I have enumerated only a few of the or- 
dinary volumes relating to Great Britain, but there are 
also rare and valuable tomes richly and beautifully illus- 
trated, descriptive of life and scenes in different coun- 
tries. For instance, one set in three volumes is * * Mas- 
terpieces of Industrial Art and Sculpture at the Interna- 
tional Exhibition," by J. B. Waring, published in 1862. 
This mammoth work is richly illuminated, bound in red 
morocco, picked out with gold, and measures one foot 
by a foot and a half. It probably cost in London twen* 



184 ST. A UGUSTINE. 

ty-five pounds, and gives one some idea of the money 
and good taste expended in selecting the Cordova li- 
brary. If one is fond of instructive books his taste can 
be gratified at the Cordova. 

At the majority of hotels you eat ordinary oranges, 
brought to the table direct from the store-room : at the 
Cordova only Indian River oranges are used, selected 
"Indian Rivers," and instead of coming direct from the 
store-room they come from a refrigerator. After this 
process they become Grateful and Comforting, to quote 
the names which Epps, the famous cocoa man, gave his 
two daughters. Perfect quiet reigns in the dining-room. 
The waiters are governed, well governed, by a head 
waiter whose head is level. He would even satisfy that 
"cranky critic," as he has been called, Max O'Rell. 
The men, when serving dinner, wear dress coats, black 
trousers and white cravats. Instead of a loose waistcoat 
they wear a broad black sash around the waist, and in- 
stead of noisy boots they wear shoes having cloth up- 
pers and rubber soles — black tennis shoes. Not a word 
is heard from the servants, except in polite response to 
an order, and they glide about like dark angels. 




ABOUT TAMPA, 



The Inn, Port Tampa, Fla., ) 
January 31, 1891. ) 

Tampa is of interest historically, being the place 
where Ferdinand De Soto landed May 25, 1539. From 
here he started on his search for the mines of wealth 
supposed to exist in the new w^orld, w^hich resulted in 
the discovery of the Mississippi river. It is here also 
that Narvaez, having obtained a grant of Florida from 
Charles V. of Spain, landed with a large force April 16, 
1528. 

Tampa is on the Gulf coast of Florida, two hundred 
and forty miles from Jacksonville. There are two trains 
daily with Pullman cars from Jacksonville and St. 
Augustine to Tampa, passing through Palatka, Sanford 
and Winter Park, both having direct connection with all 
Eastern and Western cities and one being a through 
train from New York. 

Its rapid growth during the past seven years from 
about eight hundred inhabitants to as many thousands, 
has been brought about by the Plant system, which 
completed the South Florida railroad to Tampa for the 
purpose of developing Tampa commercially. 

Dr. Long, a United States army surgeon, wrote of 
Fort Brooks, at Tampa, ''This post has always been 
considered a delightful station." Dr. Long's reports 
and other reports to the surgeon-general at Washington 
show it to be one of the most healthful stations in the 
country. 

Peninsulas have always been thought desirable be- 
cause of their climate, which gives them advantages 

185 



186 ABOUT TAMPA. 

over other localities, and among peninsulas Florida 
is unrivalled because of its latitude and particularly 
as it is affected by the warm wfaters of the Gulf of 
Mexico. 

The investment of large capital in constructing a new 
hotel in Florida with the expectation of drawing to it 
the requisite patronage, demanded a knowledge of the 
requirements of winter tourists who visit the place for 
health or pleasure. Those requirements have been 
carefully studied by Mr. H. B. Plant, president of the 
Plant Investment Company, acting under the advice of 
eminent scientists, in the selection of Tampa. The new 
hotel is situated on the west side of the Hillsborough 
river where it empties into Tampa bay, opposite to and 
facing the city, which is within easy walking distance. 
From the river to the front of the hotel there are exten- 
sive lawns and flower beds, with orange, palm and other 
tropical trees, the hotel grounds and property including 
twenty-two acres. At the rear of the house there is a 
long stretch of pine lands. 

As you view the house at a distance, from the deck of 
a steamer, or from a car window, with its long stretch 
of brick front, its iron and stone trimmings, its many 
towers with great and gorgeous silver-bronzed, balloon- 
shaped domes, each surmounted by a shining gold 
crescent, it impresses you at once as being a great 
oriental palace. And this idea is aided by the palms 
and other tropical trees and shrubs by which it is 
surrounded. 

The oriental idea also strikes you as you enter. There 
is a grand ''office," the ceilings are supported by stout 
marble columns, and the music-room, the drawing- 
room, and all the minor rooms on the main floor are 
furnished in the very best taste, the matter of expense 
never seeming to be a question with those who 
selected the furniture and decorations in different parts 
of the world. It is safe to say that very few winter 



ABOUT TAMPA. 187 

or summer resort hotels in this country are as richly 
furnished. 

The hotel has been most thoroughly constructed and 
is practically fireproof, the outer and inner walls being 
of brick, with steel beams and concrete floors. There 
has been the most approved scientific work in drainage 
and plumbing, and there is an abundant supply of good 
water. On each floor the wide hall extends the entire 
length of the main building — 512 feet. There are no in- 
side rooms. Every room has the sun during some por- 
tion of the day, and a large number of suites have 
private baths. The house is heated by steam, in addi- 
tion to which there are open fire-places in the rooms. 
The latest improvements have been introduced in light- 
ing. 

The other day I was in the Savannah depot of the 
Savannah, Florida and Western railroad waiting for 
the Florida special vestibuled train, when I heard a 
colored ''depot hand " say that he wished the Tampa 
Bay Hotel had been built elsewhere. "Why, may I 
ask ?" "Well," answered my civil and sable informant, 
" I am tired of handlin' de stuff for dat hotel; we'se been 
a doin' it in dis yer depot for de v/hole year. But it's 
comin' putty near de end now, I guess. Las' Saturday 
der went thro' de depot three whole cyars filled with 
nutting else but cyarpets, all for dat house." These re- 
marks give one some faint idea of the size of the new 
hotel. 

Mr. Plant did a great deal for Tampa when he ran his 
railroad down there, his lines of steamers from Tampa 
to Havana and Mobile have greatly helped the pros- 
perity of the place, and now he has crowned his good 
work by putting up a magnificent hotel utterly regard- 
less of the cost. If there was not already a Plant City 
in Florida, I should suggest to change the name of 
Tampa to Plant City. The house will accommodate 
four hundred guests; the rates are five dollars per day. 



188 ABOUT TAMPA, 

It is only open during the winter, from Christmas until 
the first of April. But do not go to Tampa without 
your summer clothes. 



All the above relates to the big new hotel at Tampa 
Bay, but all of it is written at the Inn, in Port Tampa, 
distant from Tampa Bay proper nine miles. The Inn is 
"little," it accommodates only seventy-five guests, but 
it is a gem of a hotel. It is built on, or rather over, the 
water on piles, and is like an island, being actually sur- 
rounded by water. There is always a pleasant breeze 
on one side of the house, and a breeze is very grateful 
in this latitude. As I write, the mercury in a thermome- 
ter hanging outside my bedroom window marks 75 de- 
grees ; this is at 5 P.M., Saturday, January 31. We 
sleep with open windows, and nothing more than your 
pajama or a sheet is necessary for a covering. 

Two sides of the dining-room are composed entirely 
of sliding-windows through which you can see wild 
ducks and fish in great quantities. I have seen wild 
ducks hauled in by the waiters through the open win- 
dows of this dining-room. You can throw a line into 
the water as you sit at dinner and if it be properly- 
baited you will probably find a mullet at the end of the 
cord before you reach your cafenoir. 

It goes without saying that there are good sailing and 
fishing at Port Tampa : Spanish mackerel and the pom- 
pano abound, the latter conceded by epicures to be one 
of the most exquisitely flavored fish in the world. Here 
also is the famous tarpon — Silver King he has been 
christened. In fact Port Tampa is a very paradise for 
sportsmen. It is easy to supply the table with oysters, 
fish and game in profusion. The table by the way is 
liberally provided, and the service by Swiss and French 
waiters is good. 

The dining-room of the Tampa Inn reminds you of 



ABOUT TAMPA. 



189 



the dining-room of the Hygeia Hotel at Old Point Com- 
fort, not for its size, but for its water surroundings, and 
the scene outside brings up recollections of the Surf 
Hotel at Fire Island. Picnic Island, across the Gulf one 
mile, might be a bit of Long Island. But there the 
similarity ends because the Inn, unlike the Surf Hotel, 
is a new house and is luxuriously furnished. 

Steamers leave here weekly (every Tuesday) for Mo- 
bile, and tri-weekly (Monday, Thursday and Saturday), 
for Key West and Havana. 

The railway depot conveying you to Tampa Bay (fre- 
quent daily trains), is at the door of the hotel, and from 
this same depot you can get a through car to Jackson- 
ville or to New York. 

The rates at the Inn are four and five dollars a day. 
It is proposed to keep it open all the year. 





— m. — "%jL/w , ^^ ^ _ ■ . . - 



^"^iS?^^^^ 



MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA. 



Monterey, Cal., March 25, 1891. 

The name Monterey means Mountain King and was 
bestowed on the place in 1602 by Don Sebastian Viz- 
caino in honor of Jaspar de Zuniga, Conte de Monte de 
Rey, at that time Viceroy of Mexico. It was he who 
suggested and projected the expedition undertaken by 
Vizcaino. 

When the members of this expedition returned to 
Spain the place returned to its primitive condition and 
nothing was heard of it till a band of Franciscan mis- 
sionaries arrived on this coast in 1768, one hundred and 
sixty-eight years after the first discovery. This expe- 
dition came under the direction and guidance of the 
president of the band, Father Junipero Serra. 

At the risk of being charged with sacrilege, I will in- 
terpolate right amid this ancient history a bit of fresh 
news imparted to me yesterday by a carriage driver. 
He showed me from the road a high plateau overlook- 
ing the sea, where plainly to the naked eye were to be 
seen preparations for receiving a statue, which is to be 
in place and to be dedicated before long. It will be in 
honor of Father Junipero before mentioned; it will cost 
ten thousand dollars, and the wife of Senator Leland 
Stanford will foot the bill. The site for the statue is a 
magnificent one, and if the work of art be worthy of its 
position, the city of Monterey will have something it 
may be proud of. 

There's a ''History of Monterey County" by E. S. 
Harrison. I didn't know before I came here and looked 
into it that Monterey was the first place settled in the 
State of California; that the first custom house in the 

190 



MONTEREY. CALIFORNIA, 191 

State (now an old rookery) was established here ; that 
Monterey was once not only a bustling city, but the 
capital of the State. It is not a wholly deserted village 
now, but its commercial glory, like that of Newport, 
R. I. , which was once a greater port of entry than New 
York, has departed, never to return. But Monterey will 
always be dear to the hearts of Calif omians, from its 
historic associations and connections. 

"The first European lady to come to California," says 
Harrison, ''was the wife of Governor Fages, who ar- 
rived in Monterey in 1783. Their child, bom about 1784, 
was probably the first child born in California of Europ- 
ean parents." 

Monterey is one hundred and twenty-six miles from 
San Francisco, and is reached in four hours by the 
Coast Division of the Southern Pacific Railroad Com- 
pany. On the way, in San Mateo county (en passant^ 
what musital names all these counties and mountains 
have), within ten to forty miles from the starting point. 
Fourth and Townsend streets, you pass the rural homes 
of San Francisco's millionaires. Some are set in great 
forests of oak surrounded by acres of flowers in peren- 
nial bloom. Next, the beautiful city of San Jose comes 
in view, and a flourishing city it appears to be from the 
car windows. As the train rolls along you keep in sight 
for many miles the dome of the Lick Observatory, 
which glistens in the sunlight on the summit of Mount 
Hamilton. 

And then you haven't eyes enough to take in and en- 
joy the beautiful views of ocean, river, valley and 
mountain as the train dashes along — the Coast Range 
mountains on your left, on the right the Santa Cruz 
mountains, with the sun setting behind them — a glori- 
ous moving panorama. 

After passing what is called the most fertile valley in 
the State Monterey is reached, if that be your destina- 
tion, but there is a more important station one mile this 



192 MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA. 

side of Monterey. When the conductor calls out *' Hotel 
del Monte " very few passengers in the cars remain 
seated, and the train speeds on to the sleepy old town 
of Monterey, almost empty. 

The first action which the Pacific Improvement Com- 
pany took when they concluded to make of this place a 
summer and winter resort was to purchase some land 
for the purpose, so they purchased seve?t thousand acres. 
Part of this domain was a forest, and of this they 
selected for their hotel "garden" a simple matter of 
ofie hu?idred and twenty-six acres. Forty acres of this they 
cultivated in flower-beds, lawns, vegetables and fruit ; 
the rest they allowed to remain as nature left it, 
after hiring the services of a landscape gardener to 
lay out within their gates a few miles for drives and 
paths. 

Then it occurred to them that it would be well to have 
a grand outside drive as an additional attraction, so they 
made one, cutting away mountain, forest and bluff ; 
going through the woods, four or five miles ; skirting 
the ocean for the same distance ; altogether a nice little 
post-prandial drive of seventeen miles. But this is not 
much — for California. The drive being private prop- 
erty it is used only for the guests of the Hotel del 
Monte, the owners of which keep it in the best order, 
and in summer time have it watered. It is macadam- 
ized and in as good condition as the drives in Central 
Park, New York. 

The road winds toward the bay through a forest of 
oaks and pines. For two or three miles it will be cool, 
dark, shaded and sweet smelling, and presently you get 
a view of the ocean. If the wind is high, as it was on 
the twenty-second of March, you will see foaming white- 
caps in the distance, and the spray dashing wildly on 
the bare brown rocks in the foreground, making a pic- 
ture which, on the day we saw it, was awfully grand. 
I don't mean this in the sense that girls do when they 



MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA. 193 

say a thing is '' awfully nice ;" I mean that the boister- 
ous waves were almost frightful with their impetuous 
rush and their' terrible roar. 

To quote dear old Fitz-Greene Halleck, whose statue 
in Central Park few recognize : 

The winds of March were humming 
Their parting song, their parting song. 

It was a habit of my predecessor on the Home Journal, 
General George P. Morris, to publish annually this 
sweet song of Halle ck's in the Home Journal during the 
first week of March. It was a singular fancy of Morris's 
and it pleased his brother poet. 

But I am getting away from my story — and the surf. 
The seals didn't seem to mind the roaring surf or howl- 
ing wind. Their unearthly bark formed part of the 
grand chorus. They tossed their heads and rolled their 
ungainly bodies about with all the grace at their com- 
mand, which is not saying much for their sylph-like 
movements. No; water is their element. 

If you expect to see the seals of the same color as the 
sealskin sacques worn by women, you may not see the 
seals at all, for they match in color with the brownish 
gray rocks on which they romp. They have not gone 
through the process of "London dyeing." I didn't 
take the trouble to get out of the carriage and go 
down to the shore, so in this instance I accepted the 
driver's word that there were five hundred seals on the 
rocks. 

The cultivated grounds of the Hotel del Monte aston- 
ish you with their size and beauty and with the neatness 
and order in which they are kept. Probably not else- 
where is there such variety in horticulture. Everything 
from everywhere seems to thrive here. Nor do I know 
of any section of country where there are such noble 
oaks and pines, but probably the company claim too 
much when they say that *' the garden is the finest, the 



194 MONTEREY. CALIFORNIA, 

most gorgeous, the richest and most varied in all the 
world." A few years have elapsed since I examined 
Kensington and Kew closely, but it seems to me that 
the Tuileries gardens, which I saw one year ago, are 
richer, and I know that the gardens in Hyde Park, 
through which I strolled last August, are more pleasing 
to the eye and to the sense of smell. I speak of the 
floral display only; it must be remembered, however, 
that the Del Monte gardens are not at their best in 
March. 

The trees are wonderful. I carry with me not only a 
thermometer but a tiny tape measure, the latter in my 
pocket. I asked the driver to stop as we were driving 
through the grounds, while I measured a pine and I 
found that it was four and a half yards in circumference 
near the ground. The driver told me how tall it was, 
but I will not quote him as I'm not giving you " Califor- 
nia stories." This pine was not pointed out nor did I 
select it for its size. There were others within a few 
feet of where this giant stood just as large, and for all I 
know there are hundreds on the ground much larger. 

Of course the palm abounds, all trees of tropical 
growth are here; there are calla lilies for borders, vio- 
lets, heliotrope, nasturtium, honeysuckle in wild pro- 
fusion, and this in March, mind you. Is there ivy? 
" Well, rather," as an Englishman might answer such a 
question. A leaf now lies on my table which measures 
five inches across. The grounds are in charge of a 
skilled landscape gardner with a force of thirty-five men 
— English, American and Chinese. 

Foreigners from other lands may rail against the 
Chinese as much as they please, and our legislators may 
be right in excluding them lest they overrun the coun- 
try, but it must be said in their favor that they are a 
peaceful, industrious set, and there are no better ser- 
vants for indoor or outdoor work. Under certain con- 
ditions, however, they are as obstinate as mules. When 



MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA, 195 

you engage them you must be exceedingly careful in 
giving them instructions, for they will always continue 
to do what they are at first told to do; you cannot 
change their ways. 

Mr. George Schonewald, manager of Hotel del Monte, 
while we were chatting in his office, illustrated it to me 
in this way: ** Observe that Chinaman wiping carefully 
the casing of that white door. He was told when he 
first came here that he was to do that sort of work at 
this time of day, and if the heavens fall he'll do it. If I 
were to ask him this minute to leave that door and pol- 
ish this plate glass window he might obey, but it would 
upset him for the day, if not for all time. If you change 
your mind and want the work done in a different way 
you had better change your Chinaman, you can't change 
their ways. But seven Chinamen will do the work of 
fourteen white men." 

And this brings me to the fact that nearly all the 
walls and all the interior woodwork of these great build- 
ings are painted white. The lack of color becomes a 
little tiresome to the eye, but one thing comforts you, 
it is kept white — not a mark, not a spot to mar its per- 
fection. Chinamen are always washing either doors, 
windows, surbase, or whatever part of the floor is not 
carpeted; all is pure white except the floor of the beauti- 
ful dining-room, which is of dark English oak kept 
highly polished. 

The series of buildings is in the modern Gothic style, 
the main building three hundred and fifty feet front, 
with a central tower eighty feet high and wings or an- 
nexes two hundred and eighty feet long, showing an 
entire floor area of sixteen acres. An acre or two, more 
or less, is nothing — in California. The bed-room in 
which this is written is an ordinary room here, eighteen 
by sixteen feet. Even the marble wash-basin is worth 
measuring — three feet three in circumference. Run- 
ning water, gas, fireplaces; and closets built with par- 



196 MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA. 

tition walls in every room. There are five hundred and 
ten rooms, and seven hundred people can be accom- 
modated comfortably. 

I am surprised here, as I have been elsewhere in Cali- 
fornia, at the low rates which obtain at hotels. A 
placard on the door of this well-furnished room, with 
beautiful walls and ceiling and a luxurious bed, reads: 
"Rate for this room, with board, for one person S3. 50; 
for two 86. 50. With bath-room S4 and $7 per day." And 
in the bath-room there appears to be an inexhaustible 
supply of boiling water. There is no charge made in 
the ladies' billiard room, which adjoins the parlor; no 
charge for use of boats on the twenty-acre lake. 

If the plumbing is right, and so it appears to be, there 
is no trouble with the question of drainage, the ocean 
being at the door. The drinking water is brought from 
Carmel river, eighteen miles distant, in the mountains. 
A ton of ice per day is made on the premises. Some of 
the vegetables are raised near the hotel, and there is a 
dairy farm connected with the property measuring un- 
told acres. 

Native wines are sold at Hotel del Monte lower than 
I've seen them either here or abroad. It's easy to be a 
"swell" at Del Monte. A half bottle of Zinfandel is 
opened and served at table for fifteen cents, and a very 
good wine it is, too, so far as pleasing my palate goes. 
But I don't profess to be so well versed in wines as the 
late Sam Ward or the present Ward McAllister. There 
is a secret, however, in the low charge for California 
wine at Hotel del Monte — the company have their own 
vineyards. What haven't they got? They have noth- 
ing less than a Steinway concert grand in the parlor 
and another in the ball-room. 

There's a feature that almost escaped being put 
down, and yet it is worthy of special mention. To the 
first floors in the two annexes 3^ou neither ascend nor 
descend any stairs ; nor do you to the second floor. To 



MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA. 197 

the first floor you descend an inclined hall or arcade ; to 
the second you ascend an inclined arcade. If you have 
a room even on the third floor you only walk up one 
flight of stairs, unless you prefer the elevator. 

This is not a new idea, however. I remember being 
shown through an old, unused palace in Berlin which 
was constructed in the same way. A member of the 
royal house was weak in the knees from rheumatism 
and so was rolled on a sedan chair up and dowm in this 
way. The porter at this hotel, wheeling his truck ''up- 
stairs " loaded with trunks, reminded me of the rheu- 
matic royalty. 

In all hotels recently constructed there is an electric 
bell as well as an electric button in every room. If you 
leave word to be called in the morning, there's no rap- 
ping outside your door — rapping loud enough to awaken 
every sleeper near your apartment. There is an elec- 
tric button in the office which connects with a bell in 
your room, and to this call you will respond. There is 
no escape from it ; you must get out of bed to stop the 
ringing. 

The first Hotel del Monte, opened in 1880, was de- 
stroyed by fire : the new house was erected four years 
ago. The present manager, Mr. George Schonewald, 
opened the first house and superintended the construc- 
tion of the second. As his name indicates, he is not to 
the manor bom. He arrived in this country twenty-five 
years ago without a penny in his pocket, but with a de- 
termination to make a position for himself. There is 
no secret in his success. Anybody can gain success 
who will follow the Schonewald method. It was not 
** blind luck" with him, but industry, unceasing indus- 
try, directed with unusual intelligence. 

Schonewald fitted himself thoroughly for his position. 
On his arrival in this country he decided to be a practi- 
cal confectioner, and not long after he received the high- 
g^t salary ever paid in the State to a confectioner, Th^ q 



198 MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA, 

he took to cooking and earned the highest salary ever 
paid to a cook in the State. Step by step has he moved 
from the very bottom round of the ladder to the man- 
agement of one of the largest and finest hotels in the 
country. 

Schonewald is a worker. He is supposed to take 
three meals a day, but sometimes his breakfast is not 
touched till late in the afternoon. From my window I 
have seen him driving about rapidly in a buggy before 
my toilet was completed ; and your humble servant, as 
a general rule, is out of bed before seven A.M. The in- 
terests of the company first, his own comfort last, seems 
to be this manager's motto, 

Yes, your Germans are workers. Mrs. Schonewald 
is her husband's helpmeet: she fills the position of 
housekeeper at Hotel del Monte, and that probably ac- 
counts for the bed-rooms being so comfortably furnished 
— a rocker here, an easy, arm-chair there, with a neat 
white "tidy "on the upholstered back. There's noth- 
ing like a woman's eye, a woman's thoughtfulness in 
providing all the tasteful etceteras which make a home 
comfortable and complete. 

I will close with a clipping from the tourist book, " To 
the Golden Gate," issued by the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road: — "The Eastern traveler coming to California's 
coast and failing to see * Del Monte ' has indeed missed 
not everything, but a goodly part." 





HOTEL DEL CORONADO, CORONADO BEACH, CALIFORNIA. 



SAN DIEGO AND CORONADO 



CoRONADO Beach, Cal., ) 
March 5, 1891. i 

I was induced to think about coming to Southern 
CaHfornia by the tempting descriptions in Henry T. 
Finck's book, ''Scenic Tour of the Pacific Coast," and 
by interesting articles in the Century Magazine. To- 
ward San Diego and Coronado Beach my steps were 
turned by Charles Dudley Warner's glowing accounts 
in Harper's Magazine. 

I had always accepted with a grain of salt the flatter- 
ing reports so widely published, and now that I have 
seen for myself these wondrous things, my friends will 
scarcely credit my story, so enthusiastic have I become. 

However, I do not intend that you shall rely on my 
mere "say so." I've been looking up oflScial and other 

199 



200 SAN DIEGO AND CORONA DO, 

authorities — men of wide reputation, who have a name 
to lose. 

First, as to cHmate. This is the fifth of March; I have 
been here one week to-day, and every day of the seven 
has been about ahke — dry, sunshiny, only on one or two 
days cloudy. On some days of the seven I have seen 
men bathing in the ocean, and the bathers said that the 
temperature was enjoyable — this in February. I am 
told that you can bathe in the surf the year round, but 
never mind what " I am told." 

And in temperature, I believe it to be the most equ- 
able climate in the world — ^but away with "beliefs,"! 
have a thermometer of my own, and the hotel has one 
also, but I have watched closely a government, self-re- 
cording instrument which is so placed that no ray of the 
sun nor no reflection can approach it, and the figures, 
signed by an official of the signal service in the United 
States army, record something like this for the current 
week: five A. M., 55 degrees; noon, 68 degrees; five P. 
M., 64 degrees. The figures quoted, to be exact, are 
those recorded on February 28; some days since then 
have been a trifle cooler. 

You may suggest: *'If there is almost continual sun- 
shine during daylight, and the ground is always covered 
with grass and wild flowers, it must be very hot and 
trying in summer." 

Must it ? Remember there is a bay on three sides of 
Coronado, and the Pacific ocean is on the other. But I 
will ask 3^ou to remember nothing. From the compiled 
records of the United States signal station here, I have 
*' boiled down " a lot of facts and figures into this con- 
densed form, to wit: — in ten years, from 1876 to 1885, 
both years inclusive, there were only one hundred and 
twenty days on which the mercury rose higher than 80 
degrees. And the summer nights are far more pleasant 
than those you experience in New York. 

"WJi^t ^bout the winter then? Here is the answer, 



SAN DIEGO AND CO RON A DO. 201 

gathered in the same way from the same official source. 
There were only ninety-three days in those same ten 
years npon which the mercury reached as low as 40, 
and on no day did it remain at 40 for more than two 
hours. 

By comparing, as I did, the United States record of 
the mean temperature at Coronado for one year with a 
computation — made in the same year by Dr. Bennett of 
the mean temperature of the Mediterranean records, I 
find that the winter temperature of Coronado is 8 de- 
grees higher than the winter temperature of the most 
favored foreign winter resorts, and the summer tem- 
perature 10 degrees lower, thus making an average 
of 9 degrees in favor of Coronado as an all-year-round 
resort. 

I haven't the honor of Mr. Douglas Gunn's acquaint- 
ance, but in his interesting pamphlet concerning this 
region he says: ** With scarcely a perceptible difference 
between summer and winter you wear the same cloth- 
ing and sleep under the same covering the year round. 
The average annual rainfall is about ten inches, with 
an average of thirty-four rainy da^^s in the whole year. 
And here most of the rain falls at night; there are 
very few of what Eastern people would call*'*rainv 
days.'" 

My week's experience agrees with Mr. Gunn's obser- 
vations. He says: "Almost every morning, about two 
hours after sunrise, a gentle sea breeze commences, at- 
taining its maximum velocity between one and three 
P.M., then decreasing, and changing to a gentle land 
breeze during the night. The sea breeze increasing as 
the sun gains its height, modifies the power of its rays, 
and keeps the skin just comfortably warm. The gentle 
land breeze at night cools off the heat absorbed during 
the day, and makes every night refreshing." 

I could go on and quote to the same effect from no 
less distinguished an authority than the scientist Agas- 



202 SAN DIEGO AND CO RON A DO. 

siz, who was in this locality nineteen years ago; also 
from Dr. Chamberlain in the New York Medical Record, 
who says "it is the sanitarium of the Military Division 
for the Pacific," and from one known to me personally. 
Dr. Titus Munson Coan, a New York litterateur of repu- 
tation, who calls this "the most charming spot on 
earth;" but I fear that you might make some such re- 
mark as a very young clubman did (fifty years ago) on 
seeing " Hamlet " for the first time. Asked for his opin- 
ion, he said: "It's a very good play, Fred, but too 
d d full of quotations." 

The Location. — Coronado Beach proper occupies 
about one-half of the peninsula that forms the bay of 
San Diego. It is situated in the extreme southwestern 
corner of the State, in latitude 32 degrees 42 minutes 37 
seconds north, longitude 117 degrees 9 minutes west, 
and is four hundred and eighty miles southeast from 
San Francisco. The peculiar shape of this unique pen- 
insula makes it difficult to describe. Beginning as it 
does, very near the boundary line of Lower California, 
in Mexico, it reaches away to the westward for miles, 
until, at a point opposite the present city of San Diego, 
it forms a conjunction with w^hat seems to have been an 
island, which, if squared, would measure about a mile 
and a half on each side. On the northeast and south- 
east are the slopes and peaks of the Coast Range and 
Lower California chain of mountains; southward lies 
the Pacific ocean; on the west is Point Loma, which 
forms the western boundary of the entrance to the bay, 
and breaks the force of the winter winds from the 
Pacific. 

But how do you get to the hotel ? Well, Coronado is 
one and a half miles from San Diego, San Diego is one 
hundred and twenty-five miles from Los Angeles, and 
Los Angeles is a station of the Southern Pacific Rail- 
road, also a station of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa 
Fe road. San Diego is also reached by steamer from 



SAN DIEGO AND CO RON A DO. 203 

San Pedro and from San Francisco, eight hours from 
the former, two days from the latter. 
• The Pacific Coast Steamship Company runs a fine 
line of boats. I made the trip on one, the Corona, a 
well-appointed vessel of 1500 tons, built on the plan of 
the Olivette and Mascotte, which run between Tampa 
and Havana. The Corona makes about thirteen knots ; 
not so swift as the Olivette ; no boat of her size is as 
swift as the Olivette. 

Some of the conditions of land and water are similar 
to those at Fire Island — ocean on one side, bay on the 
other. But while Fire Island lacks vegetation, every 
inch of ground here which is allowed to remain so is 
green, or is carpeted with flowers — literally carpeted. 
No ; Fire Island will not quite answer for comparison. 
There is no use for a horse, nor is there a horse on the 
land or the sand of Sammis, while here there are fast 
trotters, lovely drives and a race course. The two 
places are alike, in that surf and still water bathing can 
both be had, as well as sailing and rowing. But there 
is other sport here — shooting, for instance. I saw two 
men go out this morning after breakfast, empty-handed 
(one of them was E. S. Babcock), and I saw them re- 
turn this evening with a bag which they said contained 
"about one hundred quail." I saw the birds counted 
and they numbered one hundred — lacking eight. 

Is the ocean too cool for you or the surf boisterous, 
there is a plunge bath off shore with water heated to 
80 degrees. The tank measures 40 x 60 feet, so you can 
flounder about like a veritable fish. 

But you neither shoot, fish, swim, ride nor drive ? Then 
there are charming and varied walks — on the edge of 
the rough ocean, on the edge of the smooth bay, on the 
high bluff at the side of the former, or through pretty 
country lanes and lovely gardens. 

There is a charming walk of about one mile from the 
hotel to the ferry, and planks are laid about half the 



204 SAN DIEGO AND CORONADO. 

distance. You pass by or pass through pretty parks. 
On each ** sidewalk " there is a row of young fan palms 
six to eight feet high, these alternate with daisy bushes 
six feet in circumference, the palm trees and bushes be- 
ing about eight feet apart ; here and there rows of 
young pines ten or twelve feet high. 

A Magnificent Valley View. — To my mind one of 
the most delightful morning or afternoon excursions 
hereabouts is made at an expense of forty cents, with- 
out walking a block. Steam railway from hotel to feny^ 
boat across the bay to San Diego, next a horse car to 
cable road, then five miles by cable road through a 
country rich with gorgeous mountain, valley and ocean 
views, to '• The Pavilion." The Pavilion, erected on the 
summit of a moimtain, is an amusement building sur- 
rounded by well-kept paths and terraces from which a 
view is had of Mission Valley, a valley and a \4ew not 
unlike that which you get from the old Cat skill Moun- 
tain House and which many people prefer to that, be- 
cause this view is not so extensive and can all be taken 
in and enjo^'ed at a glance, ^^dth the naked eye. You 
can see cattle and dogs in Mission Valley from your ele- 
vated position, and 3^ou see men ploughing and engaged 
in other farm labor. It is a spectacle that is worth 
going a hundred miles to see, and if 3'ou can afford it 
3^ou would not begrudge as many dollars as it costs 
cents to make the trip. You are at a loss for words to 
describe 3'our feelings of pleasure when the grand Mis- 
sion Valley \'iew bursts upon you. You remain silent 
in awe and admiration. 

Are these walks and excursions not of 3'our choice, or 
should the weather be inclement, there are verandas 
about the hotel measuring a mile or more. 

Neither have interior amusement and exercise been 
forgotten. There is a dancing hall (to which reference 
will be made further onj, there are bowling alleys and 
there are some billiard tables — as many as thirty — some 



SAN DIEGO AND CO RON A DO, 205 

for men on the lower floor, some for the other sex on 
the main floor, and some for both sexes on the floor 
above. Just think of thirty biUiard tables in one house. 

The tables for women are well patronized. It is re- 
marked that women favor billiard playing in the even- 
ing and in evening dress, and it is also noticed that the 
figure of a beautiful woman with her shapely arm in 
short sleeves of lace is seen to excellent advantage 
when leaning over the table, the white arm forming a 
pleasing contrast in color to the dark green baize of the 
table. 

CoRONADo's Rapid Growth.— The Coronado Beach 
Company was organized a few years ago with a capital 
of three millions of dollars. The directors are E. S. 
Babcock, Charles T. Hinde, John D. Spreckels, H. W. 
Mallett and Giles Kellogg. The president is E. S. Bab- 
cock. The company some years ago laid out that part 
of the peninsula known as Coronado Beach into streets 
and avenues; but up to January i, 1887, not a house was 
built. Now the streets are lined with beautiful villa 
residences — some of them substantial, imposing brick 
buildings — handsome cottages and many business blocks. 
There are three or four hotels, several nurseries, lum- 
ber yards, planing mills, foundries, factories, fruit pack- 
ing establishments and shipbuilding yards. There is a 
handsome Methodist Episcopal church; the Presbyter- 
ian, Episcopal and Catholic denominations also have 
places of worship. A commodious school-house has a 
large number of pupils and Coronado has a weekly 
newspaper. With the growth of young Coronado came 
the growth of old San Diego — in fact, the latter reflects 
and shares the popularity of the former. San Diego's 
population, which in 1884 was twenty-four hundred, now 
numbers over twenty thousand. Imagine the popula- 
tion of a town increasing eight fold in seven years. 

Neither crooked like those of London, nor narrow 
like those of Boston, are the streets of Coronado. Like 



206 SA.V DIEGO AND CO RON A DO, 

the streets in Philadelphia and San Diego, they are 
named after trees: Orange avenue is one hundred and 
forty feet wide, Palm and Olive avenues one hundred 
feet wide. A boulevard one hundred and thirty feet 
wide extends around the entire property. What about 
the sewer system? Unlike Key West, in Florida, 
Coronado with its unequalled water facilities has taken 
advantage of its excellent natural position. With the 
bay and ocean at its doors, the sewer question was 
quickly and easily solved — every street is already sew- 
ered. Investors were not taking any chances when 
they placed their funds in Coronado's keeping. 

A Good Purchase.— The whole of what is now the 
flourishing city of San Diego was bought twenty years 
ago by a Mr. Horton for twenty-six cents an acre. 
He built the Horton House, and for him the Horton 
Block was named. San Diego's neighbor, Coronado 
Beach, was bought half a dozen years ago for one hun- 
dred and eighty thousand dollars by a company which 
has since parted with a parcel of the land for a million 
or two. They kept some choice pieces for themselves. 
Among the parcels of land is that upon which Hotel del 
Coronado stands, and upon which was expended a mil- 
lion and a half dollars. San Diego and Coronado Beach 
both experienced ''booms " about three years ago, when 
many men became suddenly rich, some of them since 
becoming poor. Not a few now are what is known as 
"real estate poor," their money is *' locked up " in land 
for which purchasers cannot be found at present — at 
least not at the price which ** raged " three years ago. 

Choice pieces on the main street of Coronado Beach 
sold as high as S500 per front foot, which is about the 
price of lots in certain parts of New York — say in Har- 
lem — with this difference, that "lots " here are one hun- 
dred and sixty feet deep. Had there not been real value 
in the land when the bubble burst, the bottom would 
have dropped out entirely when "hard pan" was 



SAA" DIEGO AND CO RON A DO, 207 

reached. As it is, land and lots are again finding ready 
purchasers, and houses are being built in goodly num- 
bers. That there is a steady growth, a healthy increase, 
and a great future for San Diego and Coronado Beach 
is a matter of certainty. 

Water, Ice and Sanitation. — In my travels about 
the world I advise my daughters to be cautious of the 
water in new places and to drink as little as possible ; 
here, on the contrary, I urge them to drink freely. The 
water is not only pure and most agreeable to the taste, 
but it contains medical properties which are beneficial 
to the system. Of this we are assured by testimonials 
from leading physicians in different States ; among them 
Dr. W. H. Mason, late professor of physiology in the 
University of Buft^alo, N. Y., who, referring to the an- 
alysis, says : ''The water may be regarded as a regular 
elixir of life. " Its ingredients are almost identical with 
the famous Bethesda waters of Wisconsin. 

At all events, a company with a capital of half a mil- 
lion dollars has been formed that has secured possession 
of the springs, fourteen miles distant. It has been 
''piped" to Coronado Heights and Coronado Beach and 
the yield is now five million gallons per day, which can 
be easily doubled by development. The water is used 
as drinking water at the hotel and with carbonic gas it 
is bottled for shipment to all parts of the country. If 
widely and liberally advertised, there is a fortune in 
Coronado Springs. All the ice used on the premises is 
made from this spring water, distilled, so that it is ab- 
solutely pure, which is more than can be said of Rock- 
land Lake or Maine ice. The machinery at the hotel 
has a capacity of twelve tons per day. 

The Hotel. — The structure, which with the furniture 
cost one and a half millions of dollars, is built around a 
quadrangular court 250x150 feet, the court being an- 
other name for a beautiful and well-kept tropical garden. 
This feature reminds you of the open garden about 



208 SAN DIEGO AND CORONA DO. 

which the United States Hotel at Saratoga is built 
(which house has earned the name of ''the model hotel 
of the world"), only the Coronado garden is filled with 
tropical plants and trees, and beautiful flowers bloom 
the year round. It never looks as do the gardens in 
Saratoga at the end of September. There are orange 
trees, lemons, figs, loquats, olives, limes, pomegranates, 
the banana, etc. 

Mention of limes calls to mind that by invitation of 
the courteous and intellectual gentleman in charge of 
the Coronado nurseries, I cut a large cluster of limes 
and sent it to a friend in New York as a souvenir. Such 
a profusion of flowers you never saw, unless you have 
seen Coronado. For instance, a short time ago, in this 
nursery, thirty thousand roses were cut in one day from 
less than a quarter acre of rose bushes, and the flowers 
were merely cut to save the bushes. Everybody in the 
neighborhood carried away great baskets of roses to fill 
bags and pillow-cases. 

We were loaded with flowers, cut from the trees and 
bushes, in the open, as we walked through the paths of 
the nursery — actually "loaded," for the ladies of the 
party not only carried hands and arms flowing over 
with flowers — but their necks and shoulders were thickly 
entwined with smilax. The flowers included the deli- 
cate heliotrope, the sweet honeysuckle and the sturdy 
camelia, and they also embraced many flowers new 
and strange to us, for everything seems to grow here, 
side by side — everything that grows in the temperate, 
semi-tropical and tropical zones. 

The hotel is situated on the southeastern portion of a 
beautiful mesa (the name here for a slight elevation) 
which slopes gradually, in terraces, from its centre to- 
ward the Pacific ocean on one side and the bay of San 
Diego on the other. No one style of architecture has 
been followed, as the reader will see from the accom- 
panying illustration. It partakes of the Queen Anne 



SAN DIEGO AND CORONA DO, 209 

style, also of the classic Norman era, bringing up recol- 
lections of a grand old Norman castle : but the archi- 
tect has availed himself of different schools, producing 
a complete and uncommonly beautiful whole. It is 
a striking object and the series of buildings form a 
noble picture against the sky line when viewed four or 
five miles distant — from San Diego or from the ocean. 

The projectors seem to have had a fancy for the bib- 
lical number seven. The building covers seven acres ; 
counting guest chambers, sixty parlors, large and small, 
the private dining rooms and other public rooms, there 
are in all seven hundred rooms, and there is accommo- 
dation for seven hundred boarders. 

Why one side of the house is enclosed in glass I can- 
not understand, when you can sit out doors every day 
in the year and bask in the sun. This is a good arrange- 
ment for Atlantic City, but not necessary, it seems to 
me, for Coronado Beach. 

The Drawing-room. — This is not a cold, bare and 
barn-like apartment such as you find the parlors in so 
many American hotels. It is cozy and home-like, with 
an air of marked refinement. The dark walls are re- 
lieved with some choice engravings, and here and there 
you'll meet with a living plant, and there is always a 
vase or two filled with fresh flowers, such as greet the 
eye and please the sense of smell (in summer time) in 
an English country hotel, say in the Lake district. The 
Coronado parlor is cheerful, and with its low ceiling and 
pillars of unpainted wood, calls to mind the beautiful 
parlor of the (Spanish) Hotel Cordova in St. Augustine. 
In fact Mr. Babcock tells me that some of the features 
of the house are reminiscent of the grand hotels in 
Havana, where he lived for some time. 

Other Public Rooivis. — But beside the drawing-room 
there are a number of other large and beautiful apart- 
ments near by — the ladies' billiard-room, the reception- 
rpom, writing-room, chess-room, etc.— something \i%^ 



210 SAN DIEGO AND CO RON A DO. 

the elegant public rooms (which are not so very public) 
in the Hotel Victoria, London. There are a dozen or 
more suites of rooms with private parlor for each suite, 
opening on the garden. 

The Dining-room. — This is unique. At first glance, 
especially if you are in the middle of the room, which is 
oval, it strikes you as rather bare, monotonous and in- 
artistic ; very practical, with room for six hundred peo- 
ple, but not entirely pleasing. But the longer you stay 
the more you admire, particularly if you are lucky 
enough to get a table near an end of the room, either 
that end which overlooks the garden or the end from 
which you can see the ocean, the bay and the mountains 
beyond. It measures 176X 66 feet, and the ceiling is dis- 
tant from the floor 33 feet. The whole immense apart- 
ment, floor, walls and ceiling, is of light colored wood — 
white Oregon pine and solid oak worked into panels of 
all sizes and shapes conceivable. The materials and 
light colors, or color rather, are suitable to this climate 
and in time you get to like them. 

The breakfast room is no miniature apartment either, 
47 X 56 feet, with ceiling as high as the dining-room ceil- 
ing. It is far more attractive to my eye, its floor being 
carpeted, and having a high dado of Calif ornia redwood, 
which serves to relieve the lighter woods. But Ameri- 
cans demand size for their beauty, and they have it in 
the dining-room with its floor area of 10,000 feet. To 
quote the writer of a pamphlet, **it fills the beholder 
with an astounding admiration." Better than that, to 
my taste, they have a skilful c/ief, and he fills your plat- 
ter with most appetizing dishes — if you get a good 
waiter. 

Where They Dance. — In the extreme southwest cor- 
ner of the building is the ball-rcom, with an extended 
view of the beach and the ocean; indeed, you cannot 
get away from the ocean unless you get away from 
Coronado, The designer of this room has also "gone 



SAN DIEGO AND CORONADO. 211 

in " for size. It is a circular room, no less than 60 feet 
high and 120 feet in diameter, giving a floor area of 
1 1,000 square feet. Too much room for a small ** dance," 
but splendid for a ball or grand concert. 

A feature of the ball-room is a stage for amateur 
theatricals, which, for size and appointments in the 
matter of lights, would not discredit a regular theatre. 

A Rich and Royal Suite. — Taken as a whole, there 
are more prettily furnished bedrooms in Long's Hotel, 
London, than in any other hotel I have ever seen. The 
tower rooms in the Oglethorpe, at Brunswick, Georgia, 
are large and remarkably beautiful, and the bridal suite 
in the Ponce de Leon is supposed to be very choice, but 
the Ponce de Leon ** show " apartments will not com- 
pare in beauty nor in completeness of detail with the 
bridal suite in Hotel del Coronado. These rooms in the 
Coronado are not so palatial in size nor in the matter of 
costly frescoes as the rooms in the London Metropole, 
in which I found Mr. and Mrs. Augustin Daly last Octo- 
ber, but they certainly are among the most tastefully 
furnished hotel bedrooms I have ever seen, and it is not 
surprising that the photographic views of these apart- 
ments find many purchasers. 

The window has an eastern view that is extremely 
pleasing. To the right are seen the ocean's rough 
breakers, to the left is the smooth bay of San Diego, 
while to the immediate front, as you lie in bed, if the 
curtains are parted and you are awake at 6. 20 A. M. , 
you can see the sun creeping up behind a range of great 
mountains, miles and miles away. The soft cloud of 
black smoke curling from the tall, round, red brick chim- 
neys of the electric light engine house between you and 
.the golden sky beyond, does not mar the picture in the 
least. 

Across the centre of the principal room of the suite 
are three arches, supported by the side walls and by 
two wooden fluted columns, and under the arches are 



212 SAX DIEGO AND CO RON A DO, 

heavy portieres of double silk, salmon pink on one side, 
old gold on the other. The windows are draped elabor- 
ately and beautifully — light blue silk shades, lace cur- 
tains next to the windows, with inner curtains of heavy 
pale blue silk, lined with silk of a rose tint. The furni- 
ture is of mahogany, upholstered with blue silk plush, 
the carpet is a rich moquette in delicate colors, and the 
toilet set is in Haviland Limoges decorated in deep 
blue, white and gold. The ceiling is daintily frescoed. 
From its centre depends a three-light electroher; from 
the wall, over the bureau mirror, juts out a bracket 
with two electric lamps. The mantel is ornamented 
with two side pieces of Limoges and a bronze cathedral 
clock — a miniature representation of the clock in the 
Houses of Parliament, in Westminster. If you do not 
get from these notes the idea of a luxurious and taste- 
ful apartment, the fault is not with those who furnished 
it, but with the pen which has failed to describe it. 




SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA 



Santa Cruz, Cal., 
March 27, 1891. 

In area, Santa Cruz county is one of the smallest in 
California, but in resources, productiveness of soil and 
natural attractions it might be called the largest in the 
State. In its equable climate is grown . almost every- 
thing indigenous to the north temperate zone. 

The county is in central California, eighty miles south 
of San Francisco; it has a coast line of forty miles, and 
includes, according to the United States Government 
survey, 280,000 acres. So rich is it that there are not 
more than five thousand acres of waste land in the en- 
tire county. South of this is the Pajaro Valley, the 
most fertile spot of California, called ' * the wonder of 
the Pacific." 

There is not much stock-raising in Santa Cruz county. 
The mountains, being heavily timbered, are not adapt- 
ed to grazing. Nor are citrus fruits cultivated to any 
great extent; but the apples of Santa Cruz county 
are superior to any grown in the State, the quality of 
the wine is unsurpassed in the State, and the remark- 
able richness of the soil renders the cultivation of pota- 
toes, beans, hops, sugar beets, etc., profitable to a de- 
gree unknown in less fertile sections. The vegetable 
products of the county form one of its most extensive 
industries. E. S. Harrison, a trustworthy authority 
in California history, calls Santa Cruz ' * a vegetable 
wonderland." 

Let me illustrate the natural advantages of this region 
by a comparison. While riding on the Southern Pacific 

213 



214 SANTA CRUZ. CALIFORNIA, 

railway over the Texas plains, a month ago, the travel- 
ling auditor of the company, who was on our train, sur- 
prised me by stating that the company is glad to lease 
its lands at four cents an acre annually. Land within a 
couple of miles of where this is written is leased to 
Chinamen for farming at fifty dollars an acre annually, 
and they realize from it a profit per acre of two or three 
hundred dollars. 

The City of Santa Cruz, the principal city and county 
seat of the county, lies between the Pacific ocean and 
the northern side of Monterey bay, about eighty miles 
south of San Francisco. It nestles among the foot-hills 
of the Santa. Cruz mountains, and its outskirts are 
bathed by the sea. The city proper has a population 
of six thousand five hundred, and if East Santa Cruz is 
included, the population is about nine thousand. The 
city is growing rapidly. New business houses are 
constantly going up, capital is coming from the East, 
and everywhere are evidences of a steady, healthy 
increase. 

Santa Cruz has good railroad facilities. Two branches 
of the Southern Pacific run here direct. They are called 
the broad gauge and the narrow gauge roads. The 
broad gauge is an important line running through Santa 
Clara and Pajaro valleys, passing San Jose and the 
larger towns between San Francisco and Monterey. 
Tlie narrow guage runs from San Francisco no farther 
south than Santa Cruz. It is more of a local line and 
stops at the smaller places — places, however, of such 
great interest to tourists as Big Trees. The steamers 
of the Pacific Steamship Company plying between San 
Pedro (near Los Angeles), and San Francisco stop here, 
regularly, on their way north and south. 

In writing from Hotel del Monte in Monterey, I men- 
tioned some large oaks and pines ; there are as big and 
still bigger trees here, or very near here, at a place ap- 
propriately named Big Trees. It is a ten minute ride 



SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, 215 

on the narrow gnage road of the Southern Pacific, or an 
hour's drive by carriage from Santa Cruz. You need 
not go to Yosemite, Calaveras or Mariposa to see giants 
of the forest ; here they are, a grove of 320 acres, some 
of the trees 300 feet high and 46 feet in circumference. 
These figures are quoted, but I measured a few speci- 
mens myself. One about four feet from the ground 
was 52 feet in circumference. The interior of another, 
"General Fremont," had been burned out. Four per- 
sons beside myself stood inside of it, and thirty-five 
more, we calculated, could have found room in com- 
fort. This measured six feet in diameter about five feet 
from the ground — inside measurement — the *' shell " of 
the tree being probably a foot thick. There are dozens 
and scores and groups of trees in this wonderful grove, 
nearly as large. 

The trees are of the famous California Redwood 
species, the wood hard as flint and very heavy. The 
largest specimens are named and bear tablets, ** Daniel 
Webster," '' General Grant," '' General Sherman," ''In- 
gersoll's Cathedral," etc. Under the shadow of the last 
named, the honorable gentleman held forth one day to 
an admiring audience. *' Big Trees " is owned by a 
wealthy widow of San Francisco, Mrs. Walsh. 

Powerful and proud as are these giants of the forest, 
some of them have been uprooted by nature's convul- 
sions and lie humbly and horizontally on the ground. 
I noticed that a few of these were charred. The keeper 
of the grounds explained that year after year fire had 
been tried, but the hardy giants would not yield to 
flame. They are so thick and hard they won't burn as 
they lie. ** Then why not cut them up," I suggested. 
'* Oh !" was the answer, ** lumber is worth nothing here ; 
it is so plentiful." 

They have done a little "cutting, " however. In ex- 
change for a dime you will get a piece of red wood 
quite heavy enough for your satchel, or a piece of the 



216 SANTA CRUZ. CALIFORNIA. 

bark much too clumsy for your coat pocket. The bark 
is three or four inches thick. 

This is a famous wine country. We visited the tun- 
nels of the " Santa Cruz Mountain Wine Company," 
whose vineyards are visible nine miles away on the 
hills. The tunnels are dug out of the soft, sand-stone 
rock and are dark and rather cool. That is to say, the 
air seemed cool when compared with the atmosphere 
outside, but as a matter of truth, which is often stranger 
than fiction, the thermometer showed the temperature 
in the tunnels to be 52 degrees, and it remains at about 
that figure all the year round. There are three such 
tunnels, each 380 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 18 feet 
high. The vineyards of the company include two hun- 
dred acres. 

In these deep, cool tunnels the company has stored in 
great vats no less than two hundred thousand gallons of 
wine. Bottle after bottle was opened for our party and 
so cheaply was it held that the glasses were freely 
washed with the wine as the different kinds were tasted 
— port, sherries, clarets and white wines. 

The claret has good body, and if you add a little 
water to it, as the French treat vin ordinaire, it makes a 
very good drink for a thirsty soul at the dinner table. 

California Angelica has been a popular wine for 
twenty odd years: the Angelica produced in Santa Cruz 
is sweet, smooth, oily and delicious. 

A brand of Sauterne so pleased my palate that I or- 
dered twenty gallons to be shipped to New York. But 
I'll let you into the secret of this seemingly extravagant 
order ; the price is only one dollar per gallon — and not 
Jones, but I, paid the freight. In ordering this wine I 
was guided first, by my own taste — it has delicious fla- 
vor; secondly, I felt assured that it was absolutely pure. 
The grapes are here, on the spot, ship loads of them, 
in the season, and there's no incentive for adulteration. 

The well-kept roads and fine drives about Santa Cruz 



SANTA CRUZ. CALIFORNIA. 217 

are not its least attractive feature. One of them you 
can take from the shore, driving over a bridge of the 
San Lorenzo river, passing Phelan Park and the twin 
lakes, on the borders of which are the summer home 
and settlement of the Christian Church. You keep the 
mountains in view all the way, and a turn here or there 
shows you the city, the bay, or the ocean. 

The three-mile cliff drive takes you immediately 
above the rock-bound shore of the Pacific, where you 
see giant crags upon which the everlasting waves have 
had their effect. Some of the rocks stand off from the 
shore twenty and fifty feet, and through these the pow- 
erful waves have worked great holes, through which the 
waters rush with a tumultuous roar, dashing their spray 
far above. These ''natural bridges " would be consid- 
ered a rare sight if they were the only feature of this 
scene, and would attract people from a distance, but 
where there is so much to admire and astonish, they are 
only one among the many marvels that here make an 
embarrassment of pictorial riches. 

The city has two banks, good public schools and 
water-works ; it is sewered to the ocean, it has horse- 
cars, fine pubhc buildings, and two flourishing news- 
papers, the Se?itinal and the Surf. Good society is not 
lacking, and beautiful homes abound. Duncan McPher- 
son has a fine Gothic villa ; the residence of Mayor Bow- 
man commands beautiful views of the bay and the 
town ; the home of William Kerr, two miles out of the 
city, is a handsome structure in the Queen Anne style, 
ha^-ing two wide entrances and bay windows, aff or ding- 
extensive views of the valley and bay. Colonel A. J. 
Hinds, a pioneer of Santa Cruz, has built himself a 
charming home, and Mrs. P. B. Fagen's house on Mis- 
sion street, one of the principal residential streets, at- 
tracts the attention of all passers-by. Other prett}' 
homes are those of D. K. Abeel, R. Bemheim, Mr. 
Glover and Mrs. E. J. Green. 



^18 SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA, 

Mr. J. Philip Smith, a New York capitalist, who has 
travelled far and wide and who passes much of his time 
in Europe and New York, came here with his family 
four years ago, bought a two-acre site upon which a fine 
house stood and this he enlarged and reconstructed, 
laying out the grounds in a tasteful way, making it one 
of the handsomest residences in Santa Cruz. It has a 
high and enviable position near the Sea Beach Hotel. 

It reminds you at once upon entering it of a Parisian 
interior and on closer examination you are not surprised 
to learn that many of the things of beauty which adorn 
the rooms had a French origin. The Smiths are great 
travellers and in their journeyings about the world have 
"picked up " any number of art works and curios which 
now find an appropriate resting place. 

One of the finest views here, one of the most beauti- 
ful of its kind in the State probably, is to be had from 
Logan Heights, the estate of Judge J. H. Logan. Judge 
Logan is president of the Santa Cruz bank and one of 
the most esteemed citizens of this section. The house, 
not imposing architecturally, stands on a mesa or pla- 
teau of about twenty acres, in which beautiful roses and 
other choice flowers bloom the year round. From this 
elevated position a series of bird's-eye views are spread 
out before you, the extent, beauty and variety of which 
are not easily described. 

At this point you are two hundred feet above the 
Pacific ocean. Immediately below, in the foreground, 
is the whole city of Santa Cruz, with its high school, its 
gardens, reservoirs, depots, hotels, and its church spires. 
To your left, eastward, are the villages Soquel and 
Aptos, famous lumber centres. A few miles further off 
in the same direction, glistens Monterey bay, backed 
by the Santa Cruz motmtains. 

Southward, beyond the city at your feet, winds the 
bay of Monterey. Look twenty miles further south, 
and, in this clear atmosphere, you see the sleepy old 



SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA. 210 

town of Monterey with the mountains as a background 
for the picture. 

To your right, westward, is the ocean again — alto- 
gether, forming a number of diversified and beautiful 
pictures. 

There are a number of good hotels at Santa Cruz — 
the Pacific Ocean House, the Wilkins House and Ocean 
Villa. The last named looks cozy and comfortable as 
it stands in its own pretty garden, with a commanding 
view. The leading house is that owned by D. K. Abeel, 
the Sea Beach House, which he has recently enlarged 
and reconstructed, putting in all the modem improve- 
ments, and putting in as landlord John T. Sullivan, 
who, after securing a long lease, furnished it in good 
style. It was designed by G. W. Page, a prominent 
architect of San Jose, and presents a most pleasing 
appearance, viewed either from the heights or from the 
shore, above which it stands nearly one hundred feet, 
and to which its grounds, beautifully terraced and orna- 
mented with flowers, gracefully slope. "Modern im- 
provements," of course — every room in the Sea Beach 
Hotel has running water, but the improvements include 
hot water also. 

The parlor is on the main floor, in the corner round 
tower of the building, and, with its many windows, is 
uncommonly pleasing. Through or from these windows 
you get the best features of the scenery hereabouts, 
from the tasteful flower gardens of the hotel grounds 
to Loma Prieta and the mountains in the distance, or to 
Monterey, beyond the bay in the foreground. 

The lessee, Mr. Sullivan, is not imknown to New 
York. He was a tried friend of Horace Greeley's and 
a trusted officer under Hon. Thomas L. James in the 
New York Post-office, in which place he rose after faith- 
ful service of fifteen years to be superintendent of the 
newspaper department. Mr. Sullivan has been in Santa 
Cruz only five or six years. I saw a modest little two- 



220 



SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA. 



story building in which he started here, '' keeping board- 
ers," and he now finds himself in the leading hotel of 
the town, owning his own furniture, a fine stable, and 
with the prospect of making his fortune. With success 
Mr. Sullivan has made many staunch friends, among 
them the mayor of the town, judges, bank presidents 
and other leading citizens. 

The steamship landing is nearer the Sea Beach Hotel 
than it is to any other house ; the broad guage station is 
at the door, so to speak, and the narrow guage station 
is two minutes walk around the corner. The house is 
open all the year. Santa Cruz is attractive in winter, 
but in summer it must be delightful. 




NATURAL BRIDGE, SANTA CRUZ. 



REDONDO BEACH. 



Redondo Beach, Cal., ) 
March 13, 1891. ) 

New Orleans obtained its snb-title from the crescent 
shape of its banks on the Mississippi river. The trend 
of the Pacific shore here suggested the pretty name, 
** Redondo," in Spanish, signifying round. 

It is midway between Capistrano, south, and Point 
Duma, north, and is sixteen miles in a southwest direc- 
tion from Los Angeles, from which city there are several 
trains daily over two roads — the Santa Fe and the new 
Redondo Beach railroad. All passenger steamers to and 
from San Francisco and way points stop at Redondo. 

Three years ago Redondo was a waste, or at best it 
was a cattle ranch. There was not a house nor a hut 
here, now it is a garden spot of Southern California. It 
came into existence as if by magic, as do many flourish- 
ing towns on the Pacific slope. 

Beautifully situated on grounds rising gradually from 
the ocean, backed by rich, tillable lands and ranges of 
green hills, with seaport facilities not surpassed in Cali- 
fornia south of San Francisco, its rapid growth is not 
surprising. 

The creation of Redondo, according to plans which 
promise such a satisfactory result, is due to Californians 
— men of irrepressible energy and wide experience in 
large affairs — Captain J. C. Ainsworth, Captain R. R. 
Thompson and Captain George J. Ainsworth, not cap- 
tains by courtesy, either. They planned and have es- 
tablished successfully railroad and steamship lines in 
Oregon and the northwest. 

That they have ample capital at their command may 
be judged by a few figures given at random. Their 

221 



222 REDONDO BEACH. 

first step was to buy one thousand acres of land; sec- 
ond, to build a railroad and wharf; third, to secure an 
ocean front of one mile, then to erect a hotel four hun- 
dred and fifty feet long to accommodate three hundred 
people. It was first opened May i, 1890. 

In the hotel they built a music room, 48x80 feet, 
spending two thousand dollars simply on an inlaid floor; 
there is a tennis court which cost seven thousand dol- 
lars; they laid a Portland cement walk from the station 
to hotel, sixteen feet wide and a quarter of a mile long, 
expending another ten thousand in that way — altogether 
it is easy to believe that checks for more than a million 
have been drawn in the enterprise. These Califom- 
ians, with their big trees and their forty-thousand-acre 
ranches, do nothing in a small way; 

Do you ask what are the natural attractions of the 
place? ''First, last and all the time," there is the 
almost wonderful climate — genial, balmy and equable, 
such as you will find nowhere but in Southern Califor- 
nia. The hotel proprietor tells me that the average win- 
ter temperature is 61 degrees. In case you should not 
care for figures at second hand, here is a record from my 
own thermometer. Yesterday, March 12, noon, 68, this 
morning at seven it registered 53; at this writing, eight 
P.M., 60, the instrument hanging outside my window. 

The summer here, I am assured, and I firmly believe, 
is more delightful than the winter, and the hotel will be 
kept open the year round. Like the Hygeia at Old Point 
Comfort, Redondo attracts people from a distance in win- 
ter; in summer it is largely patronized by residents of 
San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities of the State. 

I do not agree entirely with Mrs. Malaprop that ' * com- 
parisons are odorous." They often. serve a very useful 
purpose in illustration. At any rate I am given to the 
habit of comparing, be it a good or a bad habit. What 
is large or small, fine or coarse, hot or cold, wet or dry, 
good or bad, except by comparison ? 



REDOiSfDO BEACH, 323 

Por oiice, however, I am put to my wits' ends for 
comparison. Redondo is like no place on the Atlantic 
coast, because, although directly on the seashore, every 
foot of ground, almost up to the edge of the ocean, is 
covered with fine grass; and the most tender flowers 
grow and flourish in profusion everywhere, almost within 
a few feet of the surf. This in winter, mind you 
— a Southern California winter, though. It is not so, even 
in summer, on the Atlantic coast, in the United States, 
nor in England. Yes, I have it : I can indulge in the old 
habit ; the climate of Redondo is like that in the South 
of France : in fact it is in the same latitude : there ! 

In the hotel nurseries, which are distant from the surf 
but a few hundred feet, you may revel in roses, helio- 
trope, tulips, mignonette, daisies, etc. There are tall 
calla lilies in plenty and the pleasing sight of acres and 
acres of pinks of various colors is one that is very fas- 
cinating. The hotel farm of two hundred acres, where 
choice stock is kept, supplies the house with more than 
all the milk, cream, butter, fruit and vegetables it re- 
quires. 

The hotel is only four stories high, yet there is an 
elevator ; of course electric lights and all modern im- 
provements. Neither is the building deep, but it has 
great length, to give views of ocean in front and of 
green hills in the rear. It stands north and south thus 
affording ocean views from three sides. Of the 225 rooms, 
every one has a sunny exposure at some hour of the day; 
every one is well ventilated and lighted ; every one is an 
"outside room," and every guest feels that his is the 
best suite in the house. 

The porch is not one straight, unbroken line like the 
porches of so many summer hotels in the east. It has a 
few graceful curves in it and from it you may watch the 
craft sailing by — coast steamers to and from San Fran- 
cisco and other ports. The golden sunsets you may see 
from this porch are such as no artist could represent. It 



224 REDONDO BECH. 

is not within the possibilities of paint and canvas to repro- 
duce such gorgeous scenes. On a clear day without the 
aid of a glass Catalina island is visible thirty miles away. 

The dining-room of the hotel juts out in a northerly 
direction and has windows on three sides. From a dis- 
tance it looks as if it might have been an after-thought 
in construction, but the architect planned it this way, to 
give what was most desired — light, ventilation and 
pleasing views, and he succeeded. 

Two hundred and sixty can sit down to dinner at one 
time. 

There are no loose wardrobes nor clothes presses ; all 
the bedrooms have closets built in the walls. Every 
room is supplied with hot and cold water running into 
marble basins. Every room has a tiled fireplace in color 
and design to match the carpet, and what is also worthy 
of mention, the furniture in the bedrooms is not dupli- 
cated, nor are the carpets. 

The drinking water is from an Artesian well. It has 
been analyzed and pronounced pure. The plumbing 
seems to have been done in a careful manner, and the 
question of sewerage need give nobody concern. The 
hotel stands on a mesa. The refuse goes through an iron 
pipe and empties into the sea half a mile from the house. 

There are no better fishing grounds on the coast, so 
they say. If you are lucky with the line you may catch 
bonita, Spanish mackerel, baracouta, smelt and yellow 
tails, whatever they are. 

The circular of the Redondo Hotel as to rates merely 
says, ''same as any first-class hotel." This is hardly in 
accordance with the facts, as I see them. The terms at 
the Redondo are from three to four dollars per day, 
while hotels in the east, of the same class, charge from 
four to five dollars. Why such low rates obtain in Cali- 
fornia hotels is something I intend to find out before I 
leave the State. For illustrated circulars address Re- 
dondo Hotel Co., Redondo Beach, Cal. 



PASADENA. 



Pasadena, March lo. 

People who care more for comfort than for great 
" style," who prefer a quiet, home-like, family house to 
one of noise and bustle, those who are seeking health, 
pure air and out-door life with grand views rather than 
the music, dancing and entertainments of a fashionable 
hotel may jot down as a memorandum **The Painter 
Hotel, at Pasadena, Cal," thirty-five minutes by train 
from Los Angeles and fifteen minutes by ''free 'bus" 
from passenger station. 

It is a new bouse, was built in '88; it accommodates 
seventy-five boarders, and is owned and kept by J. H. 
Painter's Sons. The house is airy, the bedrooms are 
comfortably (not luxuriously) furnished, the parlor is 
pleasant, the class of guests select, the table is w^ell pro- 
vided, and at once, let me say, ere the important fact 
escapes me, the rates are remarkably low for the nice 
appointments and good fare supplied — only $2.50 per 
da}^ f or transient guests, and from §12.50 to $17. 50 per 
week to season boarders, for people come to stay for a 
month or so — some spend the whole winter here. The 
house is open the year round, it being pleasant in sum- 
mer as well as in winter. It is a mountainous district, 
and the ocean, from which come soft winds in summer, 
is only thirty minutes' distant in a south and south- 
westerly direction. 

Yes, and here are two more facts — Pasadena is one 
thousand feet above the sea, and the Painter Hotel, 
which is one and a half miles from the centre of the 
towm, stands on the highest point hereabouts. 

^25 



226 PASADENA. 

The grounds comprised in the property include ten 
acres, upon which the owners grow their own fruits for 
the table — peaches, apricots, raisins, prunes, etc. 

Do you want to visit the town ? Street cars pass the 
door of the Painter. And if you want a view it will 
"pay" you to climb up to the roof of the hotel, where 
there is an observatory. Three miles off is the Ray- 
mond Hotel, plain to your view in this clear atmosphere. 
On one side is the San Bernardino range of mountains, 
on the other the Sierra Madre range. You may see San 
Jacinto, ninety miles away, also Wilson's Peak, upon 
which the new observatory, with its powerful lens, is to 
be placed; and beautiful San Gabriel valley is spread 
out immediately beneath you, a feature of which, at this 
writing, are acres of large, orange-hued poppies, so 
bright that you could almost imagine them aflame, 
especially if the wind is blowing, thus giving vibration 
to the thin, delicate leaves. 

The drives are a most delightful feature: — to the city 
proper, with its wide avenues of beautiful residences, 
to San Gabriel mission, and to "Lucky" Baldwin's 
ranch, a pleasant afternoon drive. 

Those who are planning a winter or spring tour will 
thank me for suggesting a visit to the Painter House, 
but if people demand "style," if they would dance to 
orchestral music; if they demand great size in a dining- 
room and grandeur in the drawing-room, and the}^ are 
willing to pay for it, all these are also obtainable here, 
or rather at East Pasadena, which is only three miles 
distant; eight miles from Los Angeles. And the price, 
84.50 per day, 821 to 828 per week, is reasonable con- 
sidering what you get for the money. 

Reference is made to the great Raymond Hotel, 
which was built in 1886, where they have a bar, as well 
as billiards and bowling; elevator, electric lights, a re- 
ception-room, music-room, grand parlor, and a dining- 
room which accommodates three hundred persons, 



PASADENA, 227 

From your seat at table you see '' Old Baldy " looming 
above the clouds eleven thousand feet and snow-cov- 
ered ten months out of the twelve, looking like a great 
sugar-loaf and recalling the Jungfrau, near Interlaken, 
Switzerland. 

Like the dining-room of its modest neighbor, the 
Painter Hotel, every table in the Raymond is decorated 
daily with fresh flowers plucked from the hotel grounds 
— this is '* winter," mind you. The grounds of the Ray- 
mond cover a space of fifty-four acres, so there is no 
lack of fruit (oranges, lemons, etc.), to say nothing of 
the roses, blue bells, honeysuckle, dandelions, helio- 
tropes and violets which may be picked ad libitum — if 
you don't regard the painted signs. 

A view from one of the Raymond's verandas is not 
much unlike that from the front steps of the Grand 
Hotel in the Catskills, only the former is far more ex- 
tensive. 

The proprietor of the Raymond is W. Raymond, of 
Raymond's Vacation Excursions, Boston, and the man- 
ager is C. H. Merrill, of the Crawford House, in the 
White Mountains. The post-ofiQce address is East Pasa- 
dena, Cal. 

Orange Grove avenue and Marengo avenue and the 
paths in the grounds leading to the houses are lined 
with luxurious fan palm trees, interspersed with great 
cacti and not a few century plants, which it is proven 
here bloom much oftener than once in a hundred years. 
The calla lily, that delicate plant which is so tenderly 
cared for in the East that the flower is wrapped in cot- 
ton wool, here grows in such profusion that it is used 
for hedges. You will see fields of **callas"at Pasa- 
dena, raised for shipment to large cities. The whole of 
Pasadena is like one immense garden, a garden city 
indeed. 

Pasadena Cottages. — You would scarcely credit it, 
so I won't tell you, that some of the " cottages " in this 



238 PASADENA. 

new place are as large and elaborate as those on the 
New Jersey coast, between Seabright and Elberon, and 
some of them would not look out of place alongside the 
the grand Newport "cottages." 

Mr. Kernaghan, editor of the Pasadena Star, has a 
fine home here. One of the prettiest places belongs to 
and is occupied by Mrs. Kimball, the widowed daughter 
of Rufus Hatch of New York. 

Charles Frederick Holder, formerly of New York, 
came out here six years ago for his health, and having 
obtained it has made this his home. He has a cozy cot- 
tage on Orange Grove avenue in which is his study, 
where you may find him at his ease, wearing a short 
black velvet coat or smoking jacket. 

Mr. Holder is a journalist and litterateur, a frequent 
contributor to current magazines and leading news- 
papers. He has published two or three brochures on 
Pasadena. One of his contributions concerning this 
section was an illustrated article which appeared in 
Ha7'pers Weekly. It was entitled "The Rose Tourna- 
ment," and described a beautiful ceremony which takes 
place here annually, on New Year's day. Mr. Holder's 
style is finished and scholarly and his language choice, 
with no waste of words. Being a man of cultivated 
taste, with a rare poetic fancy, he is at home here, when 
treating of this lovely country with its wealth of fruits 
and flowers. 

Among others who have built houses and who occupy 
country seats at Pasadena is Governor Markham, of Cal- 
ifornia. A Mr. Nelmes has a lovely ten-acre place, and 
with it a generous heart. A sign placed conspicuously 
outside his gates reads as follows : ' * All are welcome 
to drive through these private grounds and groves. 
Eastern tourists are each invited to pluck one orange." 

Near the Painter Hotel are many beautiful homes 
owned by "Eastern people." One is owned by Dr. 
Green, of Woodbury, N. J., another luxurious place 



PASADENA. 229 

is that of Mr. McNally, of the publishing house in Chi- 
cago of Rand, McNally & Co. 

Professor Low, of Norristown, Pa ; J. W. Scoville, a 
Chicago banker, and E. T. Hurlburt, a capitalist of Chi- 
cago, are owners of fine estates, and of less notable 
places there are owners in Pasedena by the hundred. 

It strikes you as rather odd to find winter and sum- 
mer together, hand in hand as it were. At your feet 
flowers ; raise your head and snow on the mountain 
peaks is visible to the naked eye. 

The one-horse cars which ply between Pasadena and 
East Pasadena, California, like some of the one-horse 
cars of some other cities, have a driver who acts as con- 
ductor also, but the driver in the Pasadena cars serves 
as collector as well. There is no automatical nor me- 
chanical contrivance to receive the fares, nor is there 
any way of recording them. When a passenger gets on 
the driver leaves the front platform, and, letting the horse 
take care of himself, or handing the reins to a front-plat- 
form passenger, he runs back and collects the new fare. 
There are not many cars on the line — one starts only 
every half hour — and as most of the passengers are 
through passengers, and few get on or off between the 
two points named, the animal being very docile, there is 
no difficulty in one man doing the whole work. The 
driver getting on and off his car reminds me of the ele- 
vator in Philp's Hotel, Glasgow, which will not budge 
upward if there are as many as four or five people in 
the car. The man who runs it gives the rope a pull, on 
the ground floor, then leaves the car, walks up the stairs, 
getting up to the second or third flight in ample time 
to give the rope another pull and to let the passengers 
out. 

Some people talk of the winter months in California 
as ** the rainy season." This may be an old story, told 
of what was the case years ago. It certainly is not 
tn;^ to-day. Examining the records^ I find that frQin 



230 



PASADENA. 



January 5 to February i of this year there was no rain at 
all in Pasadena, and in all of that time there were but 
two cloudy days — January 23 and January 28. 

I have been in Southern California now for about three 
weeks and have seen it rain only on two days and one 
night — two days in Los Angeles and one night, for one 
hour, at Coronado Beach. 

I don't advise you to throw away your umbrella, as 
did a tourist from Colorado when coming here, but my 
experience would show that there is very little use for 
such an article in Southern California, even in what used 
to be called *' the rainy season." 




^->*^ 



LOS ANGELES. 



Los Angeles, March 17. 

If you are going from Los Angeles to San Diego, or 
vice versa, don't go by boat unless yon have a great af- 
fection for the sea. First, you must change at San 
Pedro, from cars to boat ; second, the waterway occu- 
pies much more time ; but what is most important, if 
you go by rail, over the Sante Fe route, you get magni- 
ficent and diversified views of the ocean, close views of 
foot hills and distant views of snow-capped mountains. 
You pass through a fertile country, see picturesque cot- 
tages, large sheep and cattle ranches, and great rifts in 
the mountains that make you smile when you think of 
"gaps" in the east, which are so widely advertised. 
The train skirts the edge of the sea for scores of miles 
and recalls similar scenic features of land and water 
which you admire in travelling from Aberdeen to Bal- 
later over the ''Great North of Scotland Railway," a 
pretty little road with a big sounding name. If you 
should have to stop on a switch, or for a ''heated jour- 
nal," for five or ten minutes, you can step ofE the car 
platform and in a few minutes you can gather a large 
bouquet of sweet, wild flowers, among them fragrant 
"mignonette " as they call it here. Southern California 
might well be named the land of flowers, and this branch 
of the Sante Fe is entitled to be called by that much 
abused term, picturesque. 

Florida Oranges "Beaten." — I wrote last season 
about some Florida oranges which Mr. Orvis showed me 
at the Windsor Hotel, Jacksonville. The largest of them, 
if I remember aright, measured thirteen inches in cir- 



232 LOS ANGELES. 

cumference and weighed twenty-three ounces. I asked, 
"who can beat these?" They are ''beaten." This morn- 
ing I weighed an orange in Los Angeles which turned 
the beam at thirty-three ounces and which measured 
nineteen and one-quarter inches. This particular orange 
was light for its size, because it was not quite ripe nor 
• ' full " when picked. It came from George Bunce's grove 
(pray do not print this "grave") at Rivera, a smalltown 
nine miles from Los Angeles. The grove was only set 
out in 1888. All the oranges on the tree from which this 
one was picked were as large and as heavy as the one 
described, but there were only three of them. 

All the ticket brokers' offices, all the fruit stores, segar 
shops and all the shops of small traders and of places 
patronized by men have their doors and windows thrown 
open during business hours. No ' * protection " from the 
weather is needed. It is never cold enough for closed 
doors or windows in the daytime. Nor are some of these 
places of business closed even at night except by strong 
iron-wire netting covering the fronts of the stores. This 
open feature strikes a visitor as very strange at first, but 
one soon becomes accustomed to it. All through the 
winter open street cars are used. 

Three years ago, when the Los Angeles boom was at 
its height, the foundation was laid near Main street for 
what was intended to be the largest hotel in the United 
States. There it stood and there it stands to-day (the 
foundation), the bricks appearing just one foot above the 
ground level. These bricks enclose a space of two 
acres. Pullman, of sleeping-car fame, was one of those 
interested, and he says that the idea has not been en- 
tirely abandoned. The idea may yet exist but the open 
lots and the brick foundation look very lonesome. 
Meanwhile Mr. O. T. Johnson erected a very handsome 
hotel. The Westminster, on the comer of Main and 
Fourth streets, which will accommodate two hundred 
and fifty guests. The site of the Westminster is choice; 



LOS ANGELES. 233 

the house contains all the modern improvements; it is 
well furnished and well patronized. 

As I write, in my bedroom of the Westminster Hotel, 
looking north I can see, without rising from my seat, 
great high mountains covered with snow. They pre- 
sent a most beautiful picture in this clear atmosphere, 
with the sun shining upon them. 

That ** cranky critic," as the New York Hotel Gazette 
calls Max O'Rell, would be suited at the Westminster 
Hotel. O'Rell complains because in American hotels 
guests have regular seats; that each person upon enter- 
ing the dining-room is not allowed to sit just where he 
pleases. The contrary is the rule in the hotel mentioned. 
A notice is prominently posted near the elevator which 
reads: "Positively no seats reserved in the dining- 
room." The waiters are young, intelligent American 
girls of a good class, some from New York and some 
from Nebraska, all uniformed in white. They look neat 
and clean, are alert to take an order and quick in serv- 
ing it. 

Strawberry short-cake was part of the dessert at to- 
day's luncheon in the Hotel Westminster. Fresh-picked 
strawberries are served every morning for breakfast. 
Not a dozen or two small, hard berries, such as I have 
seen served for a "portion" at hotel tables in Florida 
during February, but a saucerful for each guest of large, 
ripe berries that have a delicious flavor. Strawberry 
ice-cream was on the dinner menu — the cream made, 
not from "strawberry flavoring," but of the honest 
fruit. Fresh peas and Lima beans figure on the bill, 
also oranges in profusion, picked from the groves 
hard by. 

All the way between New Orleans, La., and Los 
Angeles, Cal. , on the Southern Pacific railroad, you pay 
five to ten cents each for oranges ; as soon as you reach 
Los Angeles, boys with baskets of the golden fruit 
swarm about the cars crying out, ' ' Oranges, three for a 



234 



LOS ANGELES. 



nickel, six for a dime." If you have a little patience 
you will hear, '' Oranges, eight for a dime," and if you 
wait till the train is about to start you can get ten for a 
dime. Possibly after you are out of hearing they are 
sold at ten cents a dozen. 

In the cars of the Southern Pacific railroad that run 
between Los Angeles and the seaport town of San 
Pedro appears this printed notice : "Warning : — Pas- 
sengers are hereby warned against playing games of 
chance with strangers, of betting on three card monte, 
strap, or other games. You will surely be robbed if 
you do." 




THE CALIFORNIA, 



San Francisco, April i, 1891. 

California being one of the largest of these United 
States, the Californians thought that their chief city 
should have large hotels, so they built in San Francisco 
the Baldwin House, the Lick House, the Occidental and 
larger than any of these, the Palace Hotel, ** larger 
than any hotel in existence," it is claimed. Whether 
this claim is well founded or not, the Palace is large 
enough to suit the most extravagant American ideas. 
It occupies three acres of ground. It has seven hun- 
dred and fifty-five bedrooms; number of rooms all told, 
ten hundred and fifteen. 

But with the growth of the State and the growth of 
culture and good taste, Californians and tourists from 
other States demanded something above and beyond 
mere size; and so a few months ago was erected ** The 
California." There are several ** California Hotels " in 
San Francisco, in fact, an old house directly opposite 
the California now calls itself *' The New California," 
probably because the name is new. So many houses 
with names near alike give trouble to the Post-office 
people, but the title of the house of which I write is 
simply *' The California." 

It is in a central and accessible part of the city — in 
Bush street, just oif Kearney street, which runs nearly 
parallel with Market, being not far from the Chronicle 
building, which with its great clock tower running up 
hundreds of feet in the air, serves as a finger or sign- 
post from many parts of the city. 

The front is of cedar-colored sandstone, and with its 
modem, low-arched entrances and high, round towers, 

235 



^36 THE CALIFORNIA, 

is uncommonly pleasing to the eye. There are one hun- 
dred and forty rooms in the house, and it is nine stories 
high, the higher floors being most desirable. The light 
is better as you ascend, and the views from the win- 
dows across the bay and the Golden Gate are a con- 
stant delight. From my bedroom window I can plainly 
see the graceful movements of the white squadron, 
which, with the green hills in the far distance make a 
magnificent picture. The California was erected by 
*'an estate," and the estate considered not the expense. 
They started out with the idea to build a hotel as near 
perfection as possible, and they succeeded. 

Every known precaution is taken against fire. It was 
the intention from the first to build a house as proof 
against fire as men, money and materials could make it. 
Scientists were consulted as to sanitation and plumb- 
ing, and to these points special thought and attention 
were given, Such luxurious fittings in marble and silver 
plate I have never seen surpassed, if equalled; not even 
in my recent ten-thousand-mile tour through the South 
and West, and I have visited hotels that cost all the 
way from one to three millions of dollars. 

Instead of marble and brass, which are used so freely 
in large American hotels, rare and beautiful woods pre- 
vail in decorating the interior of the new house. The 
ground floor is finished in quartered oak, the second 
in bird's-eye maple, the third and fourth in sycamore, 
the fifth and sixth in red birch, and the seventh, eighth 
and ninth in oak. The wood was cut, carved and pol- 
ished especially for the building, and is of the most ex- 
quisitely beautiful grain. 

Max O'Rell would be pleased. Printed rules are not 
posted on all the bedroom doors: it would be an act of 
vandalism to thrust a nail into hard wood of such high 
polish and beautiful grain. The furniture and carpets 
harmonize in colors and are very rich : there seems to 
have been no thought of economy. The bedrooms are 



THE CALIFORNIA. 23r 

furnished as you would furnish your own apartment, 
provided you had a large bank account. They only 
lack pictures, mantel ornaments and such dainty etce- 
teras, as you find, for instance, in the bedrooms of 
Long's Hotel in London, to give them a finished, home- 
like and elegant air. 

Some idea as to the excent to which this wood decora- 
tion is carried, may be gained when it is told that the 
wood used to decorate the parlor and music-room cost 
six thousand dollars, and yet they are small apartments 
when compared, say, with those of the Windsor Hotel, 
New York. 

The music-room adjoins the parlor, and is only sep- 
arated from it by a pair of portieres. It is circular, 
with a frescoed dome. It is only twenty-four feet in di- 
ameter ; but a veritable bijou is this music-room. It 
has tables and a cabinet of onyx, pieces of statuary and 
bronze, two piano lamps and a pedestal upon which 
stands a vase decorated with scenes painted by a French 
artist. The vase itself is three feet high. There are 
two semi-circular upholstered recesses in this room cur- 
tained in front. Occasionally these recesses are put to a 
very good use. I have seen young couples, a modern 
Claude and Pauline, engaged in very close conversation 
behind the curtains, whispering '' soft nothings " to each 
other. " Soft " without doubt were the words spoken, 
and, so far as I heard, they amounted to nothing. 

In the central front wall of this room there is a win- 
dow, and pendant in this window is a colored lamp in 
which electric light is continually burning. There are 
similar lamps hanging in each of the cozy recesses — the 
scene, with its Moorish surroundings, reminding you of 
an Oriental synagogue, in which there is a similar lamp, 
and in which, according to Jewish custom in public 
places of worship, the light is never allowed to go out. 
Of electric lamps, there are twenty-five hundred in the 
house. 



238 THE CALIFORNIA. 

There is a ladies' waiting-room which is strictly re- 
served for ladies ; there is a ladies' billiard-room, as 
well as one for gentlemen ; there is a banqueting-room 
for public dinners at the top of the house, and at the 
bottom of the house there are cellars which contain a 
stock of choice wines valued at twenty thousand dol- 
lars. 

The European plan is gaining in popularity in this 
country. When you proceed to write your name on 
the register at the Palace Hotel the clerk asks, " Euro- 
pean or American plan?" At the California no such 
question is propounded ; it is kept entirely on the 
European plan. 

But they have a restaurant which is a feature, if not 
the feature of the house. It measures 120x30 feet, it 
has tiled floor, mirrored walls, beautifully decorated 
ceilings and countless electric lamps. During the din- 
ner hour a band, stationed in a half-hidden gallery at 
the end of the restaurant, performs music that is prop- 
erly called pleasing — light selections which suggest 
good cheer, and which no doubt aid digestion. The 
restaurant is entered from the street as well as from the 
interior, and such is its popularity that it is patronized 
by many people who are not otherwise guests of the 
house. 

It is equal in style of service to any cafe I know of — 
to the Cafe Savarin or the Brunswick in New York ; in 
fact, the manager, A. F. Kinzler, is a son of Francis 
Kinzler of the Brunswick. 

The question of moustached waiters was easily set- 
tled at the California. They are skilled and experienced 
French and Swiss waiters, and there was no demur to 
the order, shave the upper lip. 



SALT LAKE CITY. 



Salt Lake City, Utah, 
April 6, i8q 



J 



On the last Sunday of last September I was one among 
the five thousand people who enjoyed the masterly elo- 
quence of Spurgeon at his Tabernacle in London ; to- 
day, Monday, I was in the Mormon Tabernacle, where a 
conference was being held, and in which were gathered 
as many people as the great building w^ould hold, — 
seated and standing, twelve thousand. 

Several Mormon elders held forth, but what they said 
did not particularly interest me. It was, for the most 
part, a defense of their form of "religion," and they 
claimed they had a right, in this free country, to teach 
and practice their peculiar doctrine. 

The acoustic properties of this great edifice are excel- 
lent ; I tested them in different parts of the house, and 
heard almost every word that was said by the several 
speakers. Each spoke but for a short time, ten or fif- 
teen minutes. 

The most interesting part of Mondays "session" to 
my mind was the musical part, a chorus of two hundred 
and fifty male and female voices singing to the rich and 
powerful tones of what is claimed to be the largest organ 
but one in the world. 

A strange feature of the assemblage was the great 
number of young children and babes in arms ; the crowd 
of baby carriages in the halls and entrances being very 
noticeable. 

The exterior of the Tabernacle, from its oval shape, 
is often likened to half an egg bisected lengthwise ; 

239 



240 SALT LAKE CITY. 

to me it looks like a tortoise, with its low curved 
roof and its remarkably short pillars, only a few feet 
apart. 

But it is a mammoth tortoise, 250 x 150 feet, with not a 
column nor a pillar to obstruct the view — the largest span 
of unsupported wooden roof in the world. 

The Temple in Salt Lake City, the comer-stone of 
which was laid on the twelfth of April, 1853, is, like 
the municipal buildings in Philadelphia, the City Hall 
in San Francisco and the Cathedral in Cologne, still 
unfinished, although $3,500,000 has been expended in 
its construction so far. The Temple's dimensions are 
200 X 100 feet. 

It is built entirely of granite. The towers are beau- 
tiful. When completed they will be 200 feet high. 
A marble slab 12x3 feet is inserted in the centre 
tower. Upon that slab appears this inscription in gold 
letters: 

** Holiness to the Lord, the house of the Lord. Built 
by the Church of Jesus Christ, of latter-day saints. 
Commenced April 6, 1853. Completed" — space is left 
under the word ** completed" in which to insert the 
date, but that space may not be filled during the next 
quarter of a century. 

The first blocks of granite for the building were 
hauled from the quarries, a distance of twenty miles, 
by oxen, but for many years past the granite has been 
brought to the city by a railroad planned originally by 
Mormons. 

Salt Lake, on account of its unpaved streets, must be 
miserable as a place of residence. In wet weather the 
mud in the streets is from six inches to two feet deep, 
and in dry weather the dust is intolerable. It is probably 
not quite so bad in these respects as Key West, Florida, 
but it is always disagreeable enough. Yet the city is 
well laid out ; all the streets are over one hundred feet 
wide ; there is a good system of electric street-cars, and 



SALT LAKE CITY, 241 

there are many fine granite and brick business blocks. 
Salt Lake has an evident air of prosperity. Its popula- 
tion has more than doubled in the past ten years. In 
1880 it was 20,000 ; in 1890 45,000. 

Brigham street, the Fifth avenue of Salt Lake, con- 
tains not a few private residences of which any city 
might be proud. 

The leading hotel is ''The Templeton," owned by a 
company of which D. C. Young is president. The man- 
ager of the hotel is Alonzo Young. The president and 
the manager are both sons of Brigham Young, but are 
half brothers only. Brigham sleeps with a couple of 
his wives in a cemetery a few hundred feet from the 
hotel. 

The Templeton is new and substantial, but it was not 
erected for a hotel, and it lacks some conveniences which 
you expect to find. It is better adapted for an office 
building, which was its original purpose. 

The dining-room is on the top floor, as is the dining- 
room of the Auditorium in Chicago, and the Vendome 
in New York, and as is the kitchen of the Windsor Hotel 
in London. 

From this room in the Templeton, if you secure a 
choice seat, you get most magnificent views. You are 
surrounded by snow-covered mountains, and to the west 
you see the principal buildings of the city — the Mormon 
Tabernacle, the Temple and the Assembly Hall, all en- 
closed and fenced within a ten-acre lot. 

We were unfortunate in the time of our visit to Salt 
Lake. The city was crowded on account of the Mormon 
conference and all the hotels were full. 'At the Temple- 
ton they had an insufficient number of waiters and they 
served saucers of ice cream on warm plates. 

But perhaps we are hypercritical in our notes on the 
shortcomings of hotels in Salt Lake ; some allowance 
must be made for the fact that we had just come from a 
week ^t "The Calif oniia "—that uew and beautiful botd 



243 



SALT LAKE CITY, 



in San Francisco which is kept by A. F. Kinzler, the 
comforts and elegancies of which, fresh in our memory 
and with their flavor, so to speak, still lingering on our 
palate, had for the time spoiled us for less perfect ac- 
commodations and an inferior style of living. 

I had occasion to look at the city directory of Salt 
Lake and in turning over the leaves I noticed that there 
are living no less than nine widows of the lamented 
apostle of Mormonism, Brigham Young. 




THE AUDITORIUM HOTEL 



Chicago, May i6, 1891. 

During his engagement here I met Mr. Willard, the 
English actor, walking on Michigan avenue, with Mr. 
Hatton, the English dramatist, for companion. 

** Mr. Willard, where are you staying," I happened to 
ask. ** At the Richelieu," said the handsome and intel- 
lectual-looking Englishman. '' I looked at the Auditor- 
ium," .he went on to say, *'but it appeared to me too 
large, and such a stronghold that it almost reminded 
me of a prison." 

I am not surprised that its great size was an objection 
in his eyes, because Englishmen prefer smaller, quieter 
and more home-like houses ; those great palaces in 
Northumberland avenue, London, were built rather for 
American patronage. But that the Auditorium looks as 
solid and strong as the rock of Gibraltar should not be 
regarded as an objection. In the eyes of most people this 
is a great advantage, especially when we remember the 
flimsy character of many of our hotels — those at the sea- 
side, for instance, or those in small towns, to say noth- 
ing of many make-shift hotels in New York. 

Among other excellent features of the Auditorium 
building there is this to commend it : it is called and is 
believed to be absolutely fireproof. The first and sec- 
ond story outside walls are of dark granite, the upper 
walls are of dark Bedford stone. The materials used 
interiorly are iron, brick, terra cotta, Italian marble and 
hard wood. 

The whole structure covers one and a half acres. It 
standi on three streets, Michigan avenue, Wabash 



244 THE AUDITORIUM HOTEL. 

avenue and Congress street, with a frontage measuring 
seven hundred and ten feet. The height of the main 
building is ten stories ; there are eight floors in the 
tower — two above the main tower — twenty stories in 
all ; the entire height from street level to top of tower 
two hundred and seventy feet. Some authorities esti- 
mate the cost as high as four millions ; the lowest es- 
timate I have seen printed or heard mentioned is three 
million two hundred thousand dollars. It is possibly 
safe to say that about three millions were invested in 
the enterprise, and I am told that it has yielded a profit 
from the start — the hotel certainly has. 

The structure includes a theatre called "the largest 
and most magnificent in the world " — the ** Auditorium" — 
used for conventions and meetings, having a stage and 
what is called *' the most costly organ in the world. " Of 
course, being Western, everything must be the biggest 
and costliest. There is also a Recital Hall, which seats 
five hundred persons. The business portion of the 
building includes stores on the ground floor and one 
hundred and thirty-six offices above, some of which are 
in the tower. The United States Signal Service occu- 
pies part of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth 
floors of the tower. From this tower you may get an 
extended view of the city when the fog from the lake is 
not dense, and when the chimneys of the town are not 
emitting black smoke. The best time to get a view is 
on a clear Sunday, when many of the factory fires are 
extinguished. 

The Auditorium building is owned by ** The Chicago 
Auditorium Association," and is managed by them ; the 
hotel proper, which forms only a part of the great struct- 
ure, is managed by "The Auditorium Hotel Company," 
and is a separate business concern. 

It is kept on both the European and American plans. 
For those who choose the former there is a grand cafe 
on the ground floor ; for those who prefer the latter 



THE AUDITORIUM HOTEL. 245 

there is a dining-room on the top floor, on which floor 
the kitchen is also situated. To the dining-room two 
elevators are constantly running. In the whole building 
there are thirteen elevators : in the hotel proper there 
are eight elevators, five for the use of guests, three for 
servants. 

Besides the cafe below, and the public dining-room 
above, there are a number of private dining-rooms, and 
on the sixth floor there is a banqueting hall which will 
seat five hundred people and which may be called mag- 
nificent. It is built of steel, on trusses, and spans one 
hundred and twenty feet over ' ' The Auditorium. ** On 
the panelled walls are painted beautiful scenes in oil by 
skilled artists. 

It does not lack for light, this banqueting hall ; it 
contains four hundred electric lamps. In fact, the elec- 
tric plant of the building is the largest private plant in 
the world — it is Western, you know. Its first cost was 
$100,000 and it costs to operate 8175 per day. No electric 
department in any place, either public or private, that 
I have visited is cleaner, neater or more methodical in 
system. The tools are hung on the walls, behind glass 
doors. No workman may remove a tool without giving 
a receipt for the same and the tool must be returned to 
its place immediately after it has served the purpose for 
which it was removed or the man pays a fine. 

*' The oflice " is not a small, unimportant looking apart- 
ment like the ''counting house" of an English hotel. 
It is after the American style, large and showy, but 
there is not a waste nor a wilderness of space as there 
is in some Chicago notels, the '' oflices " in some of the 
Chicago houses being used not only for a public rendez- 
vous but also for a public thoroughfare — people pass 
through them in going from one street to another to save 
themselves the trouble of walking around the block. 

The floor of the oflice of the Auditorium Hotel is of 
Italian marble — mosaic work in artistic designs. To go 



246 THE AUDITORIUM HOTEL, 

into figures again, there are of mosaic floors in the house 
fifty thousand square feet, containing fifty million sepa- 
rate pieces of marble, each piece put in by hand. The 
ceiling, which is richly decorated, and from which de- 
pend numberless electric lights, is supported in the 
centre by five marble columns nine feet in circumfer- 
ence. The chairs and sofas, here and there, are of oak, 
plush-covered, and the walls are of nothing less luxuri- 
ous than Mexican onyx, than which for the purpose 
probably no material is richer. Leading from the 
office to the parlor floor there is a white marble stair- 
case twelve feet wide. This combination of rich ma- 
terials and artistic work, with ample space, gives the 
Auditorium ofiice a gorgeous, yes, a palace-like appear- 
ance. 

The dining-room on the tenth floor, measuring 175 by 
48 feet, affords extended views of the lake and a stretch 
of Chicago's grand boulevard, Michigan avenue, as far 
as the eye can reach. The lower part of its walls is of 
mahogany panels ; the six massive pillars which sup- 
port the ceiling are of mahogany, the tables and chairs 
and Venetian blinds of the same costly wood. As well 
as six pillars, there are six arches in this room, which also 
has an arched ceiling. The walls above the mahogany 
dado up to the ceiling are in yellow and gold, the ceil- 
ing delicately and beautifully frescoed. 

On one of the semi circular arched walls above the 
mahogany pillars which support it, is painted a lake 
fishing scene, on the other a duck-shooting scene. 
The latter is taken from the estate of Ferd. W. Peck 
at Lake Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. It represents two 
or three men in sporting costume in a canoe, which 
is half hidden by tall grass and cat tails. The man 
in the bow stands ready to take aim at a flock of 
ducks which are preparing for flight. Mr. Peck is one 
of the originators of the Auditorium enterprise and the 
present president of the company. 



THE AUDITORIUM HOTEL. 247 

There are five hundred electric lights in the dining- 
room ; the floor is of marble mosaic. For the American 
plan two dinners are served. You can take your 
choice or eat both if your appetite serves ; first din- 
ner, from twelve till two ; evening dinner from six to 
eight. 

The bedrooms are heated by steam and also have 
fireplaces. Of course, they are lighted by electricity. 
The bedroom in which this is penned measures twenty- 
one b}^ thirteen feet. As there is no step-ladder at hand 
I must guess at the height of the ceiling — about fourteen 
feet. The dimensions given do not include a very large 
clothes closet built in the wall and a very small wash- 
room, too small, indeed, but supplied with hot and cold 
water. On either side of this bedroom are similar 
rooms each having two heavy, double doors of oak, 
so that while the rooms are ** communicating " the 
sound is not "communicated" from one room to the 
other. 

The walls are painted and frescoed in tints to match 
the wood-work, which is of light varnished oak. Part 
of the furniture is of dark, highly polished oak, the 
rest of cherry, covered with olive or old gold plush. 
These hues in turn match the Wilton carpet which is 
bordered, and upon which, here and there, is a hand- 
some rug. 

The curtains are of reddish-brown plush, lined with 
old-gold silk ; inside these are lace curtains, and against 
the windows are Venetian blinds of oak. The windows 
are of plate glass, large and massive — much too heavy, in 
fact, or else the sashes are not put in by a master hand. 
They are raised or lowered with great difficulty, not- 
withstanding a pair of brass handles is attached to each 
lower sash. For such large, weighty windows they 
have a better plan in the Windsor Hotel, London. Long, 
loose ropes with light, wooden handles attached are fas- 
tened to the upper and lower parts of the upper sash, 



248 THE AUDITORIUM HOTEL, 

and by this method the heavy windows are raised or 
lowered with perfect ease. 

But I have wandered away in thought from my apart- 
ment in the Auditorium, which is lighted by a hand- 
some, seven-lamp electrolier pendant from the ceiling, 
with a convenient tap just inside the door to turn on or 
off as you enter or leave the room. 

There is an electric dial in each room, the invention 
of the New Haven Clock Company. Upon this dial the 
inventor and hotel-keeper combined have anticipated 
as many as twenty-four wants of the guest, from a 
chambermaid to a doctor; from a telegraph blank to a 
hansom cab. Max O'Rell may poke fun at this antici- 
pation of so many w^ants in American hotels, but if they 
had such an arrangement in Continental hotels, their 
system would be greatly improved. 

You need not trouble yourself about good air or bad 
air at the Auditorium: the house is ventilated auto- 
matically, by machinery. Among other modern im- 
provements is a letter chute which extends to the top 
of the house. Your letters from any floor drop into a 
locked United States post-office box, opened at inter- 
vals by the official carrier. 

There are four hundred and fifty rooms. As hotel 
men usually reckon * * about one and a half guests to a 
room " there is accommodation for six hundred people. 
Charge for rooms: European plan, $2 to S5 per day; 
American plan, 84 to §6 per day. 

The house is managed by James H. Breslin and R. 
H. Southgate. It is not necessary to explain who these 
men are, and to commend them, at this late day, would 
be no compliment. 



MAX O'RELL ON AMERICAN HOTELS. 



M. Paul Blouet (Max O'Rell) is a brilliant writer and 
a clever, entertaining talker, but in his article in the 
North American Review for January, 1891, entitled 
** Reminiscences of American Hotels," he shows that he 
lacks fairness as a critic, and that he writes without 
the necessary knowledge of his subject. His remarks 
concerning the American methods of conducting hotels 
may be amusing, but when he makes comparisons be- 
tween English and American hotels and their systems, 
it is evident that as a critic he is open to criticism. In 
his opening page he says: 

"■ When you enter a hotel not a salute, not a word, not 
a smile of welcome. The negro takes your bag and 
makes a sign that your case is settled. You follow him. 
For the time being you lose your personality and be- 
come No. 375, as you would in jail." 

The facts are just the contrary. The clerks, porters 
and waiters in American hotels are only too glad if 
they can learn your name. They will pronounce it and 
announce you on the smallest possible provocation. 
Max O'Rell's remarks on this point would exactly fit if 
he were writing about some large hotels in London 
patronized by Americans. At those houses, the Lang- 
ham excepted, you do not enter your name in a register, 
and you are known only by the number of the room 
you occupy. If a friend calls, his card will be carried 
about on a silver salver by a little page whose duty it is, 
in going through the halls and public rooms in search 
of you, to bawl out at the top of his voice not your 
name, but the number of the apartment you occupy; 
and to this you are expected to respond. 

249 



250 AfAX O'RELL OX AMERICAN HOTELS. 

But people are not so apt to know the hotel customs 
which obtain in cities where they live, and that may 
account for M. Blouet's ignorance. 

This French-English humorist tries to make it appear 
that in every American hotel the fire-escape consists of 
" twenty yards of coiled rope.'* I believe that the New 
York State Legislature expects all hotels in that State 
to make such provision, but if it is done in New York it 
is certainly not the case in other States, as I know, for I 
have lived at hotels in many States of the Union during 
the past few months, westward as far as California, and 
as far south as New Orleans. 

Mr. O'Rell feels very much injured because order and 
method reign in the dining-room. He says: 

''When you enter the dining-room you must not be- 
lieve you can go and sit where you like. The chief 
waiter assigns 3^ou a seat and you must take it. I 
have constantly seen Americans stop on the threshold 
of the dining-room and wait until the chief waiter had 
returned from placing a guest to come and fetch them 
in their turn. I never saw them venture alone and take 
an empty seat without the sanction of the waiter." 

Chaos would reign indeed if the regular guests of a 
hotel had no regular seats, and if every newcomer were 
allowed to sit where he pleased. Of course the head 
waiter assigns seats. This good custom obtains in Eng- 
land and France as it does elsewhere; without it there 
would be confusion for all concerned. 

It would be strange if such a close and keen observer, 
as Max O'Rell certainly is, did not make some good 
points in such a labored article. He makes one when 
he objects to the solemn, almost funereal air which per- 
vades an American dining-room. People can be well 
mannered and yet be and appear to be, in good spirits, 
whereas we seem to make a business, a sad business of 
eating — it cannot be called "dining." You seldom or 
never hear such a thing as a laugh in our hotel dining- 



Max o'relL on American hotels. 251 

rooms, and yet everybody knows that laughter is the 
best aid to digestion. There is a time for everything, 
and when should there be good cheer if not at dinner 
time? 

O'Rell shows that he is unfair and uninformed when 
he is discussing some of the important features of our 
hotels, but he scores another good point when he talks 
of the shameful waste of food in American hotels. I 
quote in full his remarks on that head. They cannot be 
too often repeated: 

'* The thing which, perhaps, strikes me most disagree- 
ably in the American hotel dining-room is the sight of the 
tremendous waste of food that goes on at every meal. 
No European, I suppose, can fail to be struck w4th this; 
but to a Frenchman it would naturally be most remark- 
able. In France where, I venture to say, people live as 
well as anywhere else, if not better, there is a perfect 
horror of anything like waste of good food. It is to 
me, therefore, a repulsive thing to see the wanton man- 
ner in which some Americans will waste at one meal 
enough to feed several fellow creatures." 




ANNO UNCEMENTS, 



THE HOME JOURNAL, 



A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF 



IiITEI^ATUF?E, fll^iF AND SOGIETY, 



^ 



FOUNDED IN 1846 BY THE WELL-KNOWN POETS, 

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retains its prestige as the exponent of that literary and 
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, 

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GREAT EUROPEAN CENTRES OF CULTURE. 

The Home Journal contains more advertisements 
of SUMMER AND WINTER RESORT HOTELS, and devotes more 
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It has particular value as an advertising medium 
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Published every Wednesday. 
Subscription, $2.00 per Year. Five Cents a Copy. 



MORRIS PHILLIPS & CO., Publishers, 

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WINTER RESORTS 



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The Inn at Port Tampa is open the entire year, and is in an attrac- 
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For further information apply to any Railroad Ticket Agent, or to 

J. D. HASHACEN, Eastern Agent, 

261 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 
FRED. ROBLIN, Traveling Pass. Agent. 
261 BROADWAY. NEW YORK. 

H. B. PLANT, President. 

12 WEST 23d street, NEW YORK. 



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No place more healthy or desirable as a winter resort. 

Send for Descriptive Illustrated Booklet. 

WATSON & POWERS. 



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PARIS. 



HOTEL EARis. 



Anglo-Francais, 



6 RUE CASTIGLIONE. 6 




[ilS first-class fiotel, situated in the 
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11 rue de L'Eclnelle, 

AVENUE DE L'OPERA, PARIS. 

- — ^ — 

|S>Ap(5)E and §mall apairfcment.§ ; lift to 
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ADVANTAGEOUS ARRANGEMENTS MADE WITH 
FAMILIES WINTERING IN PARIS. 



Electric Liglmt all over the Hoiase. 



CHARLES BIN DA, PROPRIETOR. 

Late with Delmonico, New York. 



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THE CALIFORNIA, 

BUSH STREET, NEAR KEARNY, 
SAN FRANCISCO, C A L . 

THE ACME OF PERFECTION ATTAINED IN AMERICAN HOTELS. 




It is a recognized fact that San Francisco has made, from time to 
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A visit to this city is incomplete without seeing the California, un- 
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America. 

A. F. KINZLER, MANAGER. 



ANNO UNCEMENTS. 



MONTEREY-CALIFORNIA. 



i»m 






MIDWINTER SCENES 

AT THE CELEBRATED 



Hotel del ITJonfe, 

MONTEREY, CAL 

AMERICA'S FAMOUS SUMMER AND WINTER RESORT. 

ONLY 3K HOURS FROM SAN FRANCISCO 

By Express Trains of the Southern Pacific Company. 



Rates for Board: By the day, $3.00 and upward. Parlors, 
from $1.00 to $2.50 per day, extra. Children, in children's dining-room, 
$2.00 per day. 

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in rates at the various Southern ^Yinte^ Resorts and the incomparable 
Hotel del Monte. 

Intending: Visitors to California and the Hotel ilel 

:^Ionte have the choice of the ** Sunset,*' ** Central," or 

'* Shasta" ICoutes. These three routes, the three main arms 01 
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carry the traveler through the best sections of California, and any one 
of them will reveal wonders of climate, products and scenery that no 
other part of the world can duplicate. For illustrated descriptive pam- 
phlet of the hotel, and for information as to routes of travel, rates for 
through tickets, etc., call upon or address E^. HA'^TI^EV, Assistant 
General Traffic Manager, Southern Pacific Company, 343 Broad- 
ijvay, Nev*' York:. 

For further information^ address 

GEORGE SCHONEWALD, Manager Hotel del Monte, 

OPEN ALL THE YEAR ROUND. MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA. 



A NNO UNCEMENTS. 



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* REDOND0 * HOTEL » 



ryl HIS new but already popular seaside resort is located on 
1 1 ' the Pacific Ocean, under the shelter of the prominent 
i- headland known as Point Vincent, while to the south 
and east are the Palos Verdes and other hills. 

The Redondo Hotel has been spoken of as the ''crowning 
effort of all hotels on the Pacific Coast," covering over an acre 
of ground, reposing gracefully upon a slight eminence *• where 
the broad ocean leans against the land," with fine vistas of 
sea and shore meeting the eye in all directions. Of the 225 
rooms, every one has a sunny exposure at some hour of the 
day, every one is well ventilated and lighted, every one is an 
••outside room," and every guest feels that his is the best 
suite in the house. 

The building is supplied throughout with modern improve- 
ments. It has incandescent electric lights in all the rooms 
and arc lights on the grounds. There is cold and hot w^ater 
and grates in every room. The halls and lobby are heated 
by steam. The latest and most improved hydraulic elevators 
are in use. 

On the hotel grounds is the best tennis-court in the State, 
well-arranged and complete in every detail, with club-room, 
baths, etc. There is also a nursery of several acres and a 
large green-house, where the most beautiful and delicate 
flowers bloom the year round, and the hotel draws from this 
source the freshness and fragrance of perpetual spring. 

Redondo Beach is cooler than Cape May in summer, it is 
warmer than San Fernandino in winter. The temperature of 
the water of the ocean varies less than ten degrees in the 
course of a year, and surf bathing is always enjoyable. The 
bathing beach is the finest on the coast, and is provided with 
a commodious bath-house and every appliance for the con- 
venience and safety of the bathers. 

Special rates made for families and permanent guests. 

For further information address 

RHOOI^DO HOXHI. CO., 

Redondo Beach, California. 



ANNO UNCEMENTS. 




ANNO UNCEMENTS. 



WINDSOR HOTEL, 

NEl^ YORK. 

HAWK & WETHERBEE. 



CONVENIENTLY SITUATED ON FIFTH AVENUE, NEAR THE GRAND 
CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION, ELEVATED AND SURFACE 
TRAMWAYS, THEATRES, PLACES OF AMUSE- 
MENT, CHURCHES AND CLUBS. 



HAS BEEN RECENTLY FITTED THROUGHOUT 
WITH THE LATEST MODERN SANI- 
TARY PLUMBING. 



THE DRINKING WATER USED IS CHEMICALLY PURE AND THE ICE 
IS MADE FROM DISTILLED WATER. 



CUISINE AND SERVICE UNSURPASSED. 



COOL AND ATTRACTIVE IN SUMMER. 



COMFORTABLE AND HOME-LIKE IN WINTER. 



STAGES WHEN DESIRED, WILL MEET ALL STEAMERS AND CONVEY 

PASSENGERS AND LUGGAGE DIRECT TO THE 

HOTEL AT MODERATE CHARGES. 



RAILWAY TICKETS. SLEEPING CAR AND DRAWING-ROOM CAR 
ACCOMMODATIONS CAN BE SECURED IN THE HOTEL) CABLE 
AND TELEGRAPH OFFICE, RUSSIAN AND TURK- 
ISH BATHS, AND EVERY COMFORT AND 
CONVENIENCE FOR TRAVELERS. 



WELL-LIGHTED AND VENTILATED SPACIOUS PUBLIC ROOMS, COR- 
RIDORS, DRAWING-ROOMS AND PARLOR SUITES, SINGLE 
OR DOUBLE ROOMS WITH OR WITHOUT BATHS. 



ALL LANGUAGES SPOKEN. 



ANNO UNCEMENTS, 



YOUR ADVERTISING 



IS SOLICITED. 



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Estimates, containing Selected Lists of Suitable 
Publications with Rates for Advertising, furnished free 
on application. 



ANNO UNCEMENTS, 



AUDlTOF^IUA HOTEL, 



-^iA^^%M^:yym^^ 




Michigan Ave., Congress St., and Wabash Ave., 

C H I C AG O- 

The most massive hotel structure in the world, built 
entirel}' of stone and iron, ten stories high, absolutely 
fire-proof. Overlooking Lake Michigan, situated within 
four blocks of the business centre of the city. Ameri- 
can and European plans. 

BRESLIN & SOUTHCATE. 



GILSEY HeasE, 

Corner Broadway and Twenty-Ninth Street, 

N E\A/ YOR K. 

European Plan. 

J. H. BRESLIN & CO., - - PROPRIETORS. 



A NNO UNCEMENTS. 



Visitors to Europe! 



CIRCULAR CREDITS. F0REI6N EXCHANGE. 



Cheque Bank Cheqttes ai^e the most convenient 
of Exchange to carry. 

They are issned in books fro7n £io np to any 
amotcnt. 

They can be cashed at 3.000 Banks and 1,000 
Hotels, 

They are cashed in the currency of the country 
visited, free of commission. 

They are no good until signed. 

Special letters of identification are isstced. 

Travellers 77iail matter promptly attended to 
without charge. 



Send for circulars and testimonials, list of Banks 
and Hotels, etc., or apply to 

E. J. MATHEWS &l CO., 

Bankers' Agents, 

2 WALL ST.. NEW YORK. 



ANNO UNCEMENTS: 



tl and 12 DOVER STREET, PICCADILLY, - LONDON. 
277 FIFTH AVENUE, . - - NEW YORK. 

1703 MICHIGAN AVENUE, - - - CHICAGO. 



KATE RBILY 



TJ AS always on view at her three well-known estab- 
lishments, in London, New York and Chicago, 
a varied assorttrtent of the newest aiid most choice 
goods in 

(;osfumes, Mantles .s^^Millinefy. 



Madame Reily pays six or more annual visits to 
Paris, where she has also a permanent agent. She thus 
secures the freshest novelties, as they appear, and 
seizing all that is best and most becoming in the in- 
coming fashions adapts it to the especial requirements 
of her extensive clientele. 

Madame Reily 's excellent taste has obtained for her 
the esteemed patronage of all the most fashionable, 
aristocratic and artistic ladies of both hemispheres. 



PERFECT FIT GUARANTEED BY FIRST-CLASS 
FRENCH FITTERS. 



H 25 8 83 



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